


Dancing on Ice

by KeepCalmAndYarnOver



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bisexual, Bisexual Character, Character goes to Ouran, Drama, I'm not entirely sure where this is going, Victor and Yuri adopted kids, they are so cute together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-01 16:32:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10925697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeepCalmAndYarnOver/pseuds/KeepCalmAndYarnOver
Summary: After living in Russia for five years, they move to Japan where both Yuri and Victor have opened an ice rink, and coach kids, and other skaters in figure skating after they retired from competition.They enroll her in Ouran academy, where the other students hopefully won't swarm her as they did in Russia because of her dads.But what happens when you mix in the Host Club?





	1. Chapter 1

"Elena! Jacob! Come on! Your dad's back with the truck!" Victor called up the stairs.  
The thumping of steps was heard as two people sped down the steps.  
One was a small boy with black hair that stood up everywhere and dark green eyes filled with happiness. He jumped off the last step and ran to the door in the fairly empty house. "Yay! Dad's home!"  
The second was a teen girl of around 16, with short curly brown hair and brown eyes, who descended the stairs much slower than the other did, though she was going faster than people normally would.  
The silver haired man placed his arm around the short teen as they walked outside.  
"Are you excited for your new school?" Victor asked as they watched the small boy run into the arms of the man who had just gotten out from the truck.  
"A little bit. I still have a difficult time reading and writing the Japanese kanji. But I've gotten better."

He nodded and kissed her head. "You'll do fine. Don't worry."

She nodded absentmindedly as her other dad, Yuri, walked up with the young boy, Jacob, sitting atop his shoulders.  
"Ready to unload the van?" Yuri asked, and Victor replied with a nod and kissed his husband, causing Jacob to giggle and cover his eyes before they began the difficult job of moving into their new home.

 

 

"Yuri! Where does this go?"  
Victor had been asking Yuri the same question ever since they started to unpack the boxes.  
Elena was up in her room, taking everything she owned out from the boxes, and giggling at her dads' conversations.  
Her giggling stopped after she opened one of the boxes, and the smile fell from her face.  
Sitting at the top, above several other of her things, sat a shoebox.

 

She didn't open it. She already knew what was inside.

It held items from her past.  
She closed her eyes and remembered all the old memories. She remembered the hot weather that was there almost year round in Texas. She remembered her grandparents' old log cabin in the mountains of Mexico.  
She remembered her mother. Elena looked almost exactly like her. Her curly brown hair and eyes. Her mom had been from Mexico.  
She remembered her dad. Her mother said that the two were alike. She smiled. Her dad was American.  
It was weird. Her mom was from Mexico, her dad from America. Then she was adopted and had two new dads. One from Russia, the other from Japan.  
She could speak four languages now.  
She giggled and smiled sadly as she came back to the present. She was still really grateful to be adopted by two amazing people.  
She wouldn't have wanted anyone else.  
"Victor! Be careful! Those are the glass plates!"  
They were strange family, but they were the best she could have asked for.  
Her door was pushed open and Machachin padded in, panting as she walked over to Elena and placed herself next to the girl.  
Elena absentmindedly scratched the dog's head as she pulled the other things from the box, listening to her dads unpack, Victor asking Yuri a question every few minutes.

 

 

They spent several hours going around and unpacking, but when it got late, they decided to call it quits for the day.  
Jacob and Elena were in the living room that only held a couch, a television, a few tables, and their video games.  
The two were playing a game, the small boy trying to beat the older girl, who was happily letting him win.  
Their parents were in the kitchen making dinner, and every so often they could hear Victor make a comment that would make Yuri flustered and the two kids laugh.  
While Jacob stood up and yelled as he triumphantly beat his sister for the third time; Elena was off in her own world.  
She started school next week, which was in three days, starting tomorrow. Her uniform was arriving tomorrow, and apparently, going by the brochure, it was a bright yellow dress with goofy sleeves.  
She didn't like dresses in general, that isn't to say she never wears them. She wore them on occasion but preferred not to.

Yellow certainly wasn't her first choice, but it was better than neon orange, or lime green, or something like that.

She was silent at dinner as well, and the other three sitting at the table noticed.  
But she had to mentally prepare herself for her first day growing closer and closer.  
She wasn't the most excited. Her mind flashed to her middle school in Russia, and she frowned. She was glad to have left that school, but after what happened there, she would rather be homeschooled.

 

The days until school flew by, and before she knew it, it was Monday- her first day at Ouran.  
She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she smoothed out her dress.  
She sighed as she heard her dad call her down the stairs for breakfast. She tore her eyes away from her reflection and grabbed her messenger bag from her bed before going down the stairs.  
Both her dads stood at the bottom of the stairs.  
"You look adorable!" Victor cooed as he saw her in the dress.  
She gave him a smile. "Spasibo, Papa. But I still don't like dresses."  
"But you look so pretty, Elena! I don't know why you don't like dresses." Victor continued.  
She just rolled her eyes and followed them into the kitchen where her brother Jacob was tiredly eating oatmeal.  
"Impostler!" he yelled through a mouth of oatmeal. "My sister would never wear a dress!"  
She rolled her eyes again as she sat next to him with a smile. "Oh darn. I thought it would fool you! Oh well, guess I'll have to try again next time." she picked up her spoon and began to eat.  
The boy giggled as he spooned more oatmeal into his mouth.  
The little outburst he had seemed to have woken him up some as he was now talking to them about something at a hundred miles an hour.  
"And he had switched bodies with the pig, so now he was a pig and he went wandering around the town, and then he was chased by the funny old man who's name rhymes with bucket and the old man was trying to eat him because he's crazy and didn't believe him when he said he wasn't a pig, even though he can talk, so then old man bucket chased him around trying to eat him. In the end, they got switched back and suddenly there was this lady that wanted to marry him, but he didn't know who she was because the pig was in his body. It was funny."  
She knew neither of her dads understood what he was saying, but Elena did and was giggling as she remembered the show the two had watched last night before bed. (Two points to whoever can guess the show!)

She glanced at the clock and nearly choked on her oatmeal. She wanted to leave early so she could get to school with enough time to find her class without being late. She would have to leave soon if she wanted to make it there on time.

"Dad, we need to leave soon." She stated as she stood up and smoothed out her dress again.

Yuri nodded as he stood up as well. "Alright. Let me grab my shoes, and we can head out."

She nodded and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When she had finished, she grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder and went to meet her dad at the door.

Both of them and Jacob stood there ready to leave.

Jacob was going to attend Ouran's elementary branch, so he wore his uniform as he sat on Victor's shoulders.

The family left the house and piled into the car. Victor sat behind the wheel and turned on the ignition before he began to pull out the driveway.

The car ride was filled with the sound of them singing along with the songs on the radio, Jacob being the loudest. It calmed her nerves slightly, but not by much. She started to pick at her nails and the skin around it absentmindedly. A bad habit she's had ever since she could remember.

They pulled up to Ouran, and Elena looked up at the school.

It was pink and even bigger than she imagined.

Was she going to regret agreeing to come to this gigantic school? Probably.

But it was too late to back out now.

"We'll be here to pick you up after school, ok?" Yuri said as he looked at her through the mirror.

She nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you after school."

Victor was smiling widely. "Have fun at school my malen'kaya printsessa !"

She grinned. "Spasibo, papa." and with a hug goodbye to her younger brother, and a wave to both her fathers, she stepped out of the vehicle to face her new school.

This was going to be different.

 

 

She glanced around the hallway she was in, glancing at the map she held in her hands every once in a while, trying to determine where her classroom was and the libraries.

She sighed in relief as she looked up at the label next to the door to find the room she needed. She had been walking through the halls for nearly twenty minutes trying to find at least one of the classrooms.

She peeked past the door frame to see if there was anyone in the classroom. Inside were very few students, most in the halls talking with their friends.

There were a group of girls near the middle of the room, giggling about something and looking at the front where there sat three boys who were talking calmly with each other. Two red heads-twins, since they looked exactly alike- and a brown-haired boy, who looked extremely annoyed with the two redheads who occasionally placed their arms around his shoulders.

She took a step into the room, attracting the attention a few students, but not many. The three boys noticed, the brown haired one giving her a kind smile, while the other two gave identical mischievous grins.

The teacher sat at the desk in the room. He was a balding man, in a nice suit, and smile lines on his face. He stood up when he noticed her come in. "Ah, hello. You must be our new student. There is your desk next to the window. Get yourself situated."

She smiled lightly and did as she was told. She placed her bag near her feet and sat down, beginning to pick at her nails again. She winced slightly as she tore a bit of the nail. She looked down at her hands and glared at them. Her nails weren't pretty.

She looked up when a shadow appeared above her. She looked up to see the brown-haired boy that was sitting in between the two redheads.

"Hello. I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" He asked with a small smile.

She nodded slightly as she absentmindedly began to pick at her nails again. "Yeah. I just got here."

He smiled, and she couldn't help but smile as well. He had a nice smile.

"I'm Fujioka Haruhi. What's yours?" He asked.

"Elena." She debated whether or not to tell anyone her last name. She didn't want a remake of middle school.

"That's a really pretty name. I can help you out if you need it. Don't hesitate to ask for help."

She was relieved he didn't ask for her last name. She gave him a thankful smile. "Thanks. That's really nice of you."

He didn't stop smiling as he went back to his desk after telling her he would talk to her later, and the teacher started his lesson.

She smiled as well. Not many people had been that nice to her on her first day. Maybe this school will be different.

A good different.

 

 

The morning classes sped by, and soon it was lunch time.

Haruhi came up to her desk and offered to show her the lunchroom, where she immediately agreed, as she had no clue where she was going.

The two walked down the halls talking to each other.

"Are there a lot of clubs here?" Elena asked from beside Haruhi.

"There's a few. I know there's a gardening club, and I'm in the Host Club." Haruhi replied.  
"What's the Host Club?" Elena asked, curiously.  
"It's basically where rich girls pay to be entertained and flattered by rich guys." He seemed to be slightly embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head. "I have to pay off a debt to them, so I got roped in."

Elena smiled slightly. "I'm sure you'll pay it off soon." She encouraged.

He smiled at her words. "Thanks. Maybe you could visit. I'd love to have you come, even for a little while."

Elena grinned. "Maybe. I would have to ask my parents, though."

Haruhi just nodded as they entered the cafeteria. Elena could see a lot of the girls staring at them- some curious, others a little jealous, and yet, others seemed to swoon and squeal.

Elena decided it would be best to ignore them as she looked around for a seat somewhere.

"You can sit with me if you want to. I will be sitting with the rest of the Host club, but I don't think they would mind you being there too much." Haruhi told her.

Elena agreed immediately. Many of the tables were already full, all with people she didn't recognize. If she sat at a table with Haruhi and the rest of the Host Club, at least she would know one person.

Haruhi led her to a table near the center of the room, guiding her by her elbow through the crowded cafeteria. The table had six other boys there, probably the most good looking out of all the boys in the school.

There were two redheads that she could remember from her classes with Haruhi - Hikaru and Kaoru if she remembered correctly - two blondes, one tall with violet eyes and fair skin, the other the shortest out of all of them, being shorter than her by several inches (and she was a shorter than many girls her age, and at times younger), but taller than her younger brother. Then there were two with black hair. One wearing glasses and holding a black notebook or binder of some sort, the second one was extremely tall, his face devoid of emotion.

The tall blond looked up as the two walked up. "Haruhi!" He exclaimed, not noticing Elena for a moment in his excitement of seeing their newer Host. He froze for a moment at seeing Elena before his entire demeanor changed and a rose appeared in his hand from seemingly nowhere as he gracefully stood up and gently grabbed Elena's hand and smiled at her. "And who may you be?"

Elena tensed up slightly at the close contact and was suddenly fully aware of all the calluses on her hands, though the blond didn't seem to notice them like she did.

"This is Elena," Haruhi answered after she didn't after a moment. "She's new, and I suggested she sit with me since she doesn't know anyone else here." She then turned to Elena with an encouraging smile. "This is Tamaki. Come sit down Elena - there's plenty of room."

Elena smiled softly as she sat next to Haruhi awkwardly and placed her bento box on the table. She looked at the boys around her, hoping that they would introduce themselves or if she would have to ask - she didn't do well around people she didn't know.

She was glad when the small blond spoke up. "Hi! I'm Mitskuni Haninozuka! But everyone calls me Honey." He gestured to the tall black haired guy sitting next to him. "And this is Takashi. But they just call him Mori." Mori hummed and nodded in response.

"I'm Hikaru." One redhead stated.

"And I'm Kaoru." The second added. 

"And we're the Hitachiin twins!" They exclaimed together.

The only one left was the one with glasses. At the moment he was looking at his notebook.

"I am Ootori Kyoya." He stated after a moment of silence. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Nikiforov-Katsuki."

She froze at hearing her last name said out loud. Her eyes widened as she stared at him. "How do you know my full name?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I have my ways." he tilted his head and light shone onto his glasses as he adjusted them, and light glared so she couldn't see his eyes. "But my, my, Miss Nikiforov-Katsuki. You have an interesting background." 

"Wait? Nikiforov-Katsuki? Like those famous skaters?" the twins asked at the same time.

She looked down at her bento box, glaring angrily and planning a murder that would never actually happen. This was what she was afraid of - people knowing who her parents were, and possibly using her to get fame or something like that.

Tamaki's eyes widened and he slammed his hands on the table and stood up suddenly as he leaned over to get a better look at her and she prepared for the words she had heard before. 'That's so cool! Let's be friends! Can we hang out later?'

"Can you skate?!" 

The words shocked her and he head shot up to look at the excited blond in front of her before nodding her head slowly.

"Can you figure skate?"

Again she nodded as she looked at him in confusion. 

"Can you teach us?!" He was slowly getting more and more excited.

She didn't have an immediate answer. She had never taught anyone before, and she wasn't anywhere near as good as her dads or Yuri, or Phichit, or Otabek. She wasn't sure what to reply to him.

Tamaki was eagerly awaiting a response.

"I-I'm not sure. I'm not that good." She replied at last.

"As long as you can teach us a little bit, can you? Please!" Tamaki seemed as if he was ready to beg.

She ended up replying with a shrug and a few words. "I suppose I can."

With that, Tamaki stood up straight and looked at the others around him. "Men! There will be a new theme for winter this year! It will be discussed at a club later today, but for this to work, we will need Elena's help! Now! We need to finish our lunches and get back to class so we can get to the club today!" 

The twins and Honey immediately agreed and took a bite of their food.

Elena smiled slightly as she watched them. She found them amusing. She pulled the lid off her box and smiled at the still slightly warm katsudon piroshkis sitting there.

She felt someone looking over her shoulder and saw the two redheaded twins. "What's that?" they asked pointing to the Piroshkis.

She smiled and tore one in half. "Piroshki. Would you like to try them? It's a special recipe from a family friend." She held out a half to the two.

One of them took it (she wasn't sure which one), and split it in half before handing one of tho halves to his brother. They both took a bite and chewed.

"It tastes like katsudon." One commented.

"It's supposed to." She giggled.

"Can I try?" Hunny asked excitedly.

Elena was glad her dad packed her several extras, so she halved the half she had left and handed a piece to Honey and another to Tamaki who had asked to try as well, and offered some to Haruhi, Mori, and Kyoya before enjoying one herself.

"This is amazing!" Tamaki exclaimed through a mouthful of the Piroshki.

Elena smiled as she took another bite from hers.

Elena slowly grew more and more comfortable with these boys. Her first hasn't been as bad as she thought it would have been.

 

 

 

Elena waited at the curb in front of the school waiting for the familiar vehicle to pull up and take her home.

It soon did, and she was smiling as she steps into the vehicle.

"How was school?" Yuri asked as he pulled away, looking at her through the mirror.

Elena smiled wider. "Great. Much better than I thought it would have gone."

"Did you make any friends?" He asked.

She was silent for a moment as she remembered the Host Club.

"I think so. By the way, can I invite some friends to the rink tomorrow?"


	2. Chapter 2

Elena waved to the Host Club as she left music room 3, a big smile on her face. The meeting had just finished, and Tamaki was now extremely excited to have her teach them to ice skate.

The door closed silently behind her, and as soon as it did, Haruhi turned to Tamaki, an annoyed look on her face.

"Alright, Tamaki. Why were you so insistent that she teach us to skate all of a sudden?" She asked.

Tamaki dramatically placed a hand on his chest as he looked at the girl dressed in the boy's uniform through half-lidded eyes. "Why Haruhi! Why not? It'll be fun!"

The twins appeared next to Haruhi, their arms crossed, and the same annoyed look on their faces as Haruhi. "Boss, there's got to be another reason. We could have gotten a professional to privately train us anywhere." Hikaru pointed out.

"He's right Tamaki," Kyoya stated as he typed on his computer. "We could have gotten a professional trainer easily."

"I thought it was obvious!" Tamaki exclaimed. "If Haruhi and Elena become friends, Elena can bring out Haruhi's feminine side! All she needs is a competent female companion, and before we know it, Haruhi will be the girl she is!" 

"You mean that same plan you had when Renge showed up?" Haruhi stated dully.

"That didn't work out so well, Boss." Hikaru and Kaoru pointed out.

"That's because Renge is a crazy Otaku." Tamaki huffed. 

Haruhi groaned and put her face in the palm of her hand. "Tamaki-senpai, are you sure about that?"

"But Haruhi! Daddy wants his little girl!" He wailed and tried to hug her, which she was swiftly pulled out of by the twins. Tamaki then proceeded to go to the corner and grow mushrooms while muttering about shady twins.

Haruhi sighed. She wished Elena didn't have to be pulled into this mess she had been dragged into. She wouldn't want anyone to since all of the other Hosts were insane in some way.

 

 

For once in a long time, Elena was excited to go to school.

Her excitement was showing as she flew down the stairs in the light yellow dress (it was starting to grow on her), and raced to the breakfast table where her family sat eating.

"You seem excited," Victor commented as Yuri looked at her, a happy smile on his face.

She nodded. "Yup."

"Hey, you never told us about those friends you mentioned yesterday," Yuri stated, looking at her curiously. "The ones you said you wanted to invite to the ice rink today while it's closed."

She slowed her chewing as she decided how she was going to tell them that she became friends with a Host Club, and they wanted her to teach them how to figure skate, as it was discussed in the club meeting she was invited to by Tamaki.

"Oh. There's quite a few of them." She said simply. "There's Tamaki, Kyoya, Mitsukuni, but they call him Honey, Takashi, but they call him Mori, the twins Hikaru and Kaoru, and Haruhi. She's an honor student there, which means she might just be the sanest one." She recalled how Tamaki, the twins, and Honey acted with her being there. Tamaki had been pretty flirty, and so she didn't talk to him much, preferring to sit next to Haruhi and have a conversation with him. 

She thought the twins to be okay, she hadn't spoken to them enough to know what to think of them. She liked Honey and Mori, Honey was very positive and loved hearing her speak Russian. Mori was silent, but very kind, nonetheless.

Kyoya creeped her out. How much information about her did he have?!

She was jerked from her thoughts by hearing Victor choking on his cereal. Yuri hit his back to help dislodge the food, and Victor coughed some before he turned his look to his daughter.

"They're BOYS?!"

She raised an eyebrow slightly and watched him as she slowly nodded her head.

Jacob looked up at this. "Elena has boyfriends?" He questioned with a tilt of his head.

"No, just guy friends." She corrected quickly.

"That's what I said." He replied before going back to his cereal.

"YURI! Our baby girl is growing up too fast! She's hanging out with boys! do we do?!" Victor exclaimed as he clutched his husband, who seemed at a loss as to what to do.

"Victor! I don't know what we should do! Just let her be! We can meet them when they come to the ice rink later!" 

Elena smiled as she watched dads before she frowned and her happy look turned to one of horror. They were going to embarrass her terribly.

She put her face in her hands and groaned. "I didn't think about that."

Victor and Yuri turned to look at her confused at her words. "Think about what, sweetheart?" Yuri asked.

"You're going to embarrass me in front of my friends!" She exclaimed, bringing her head back up to look at them. "You guys always do!"

Victor placed a hand on his chest and looked away, dramatically acting hurt. "Yuri! How could she say something like that to us?!"

Yuri rolled his eyes before turning back to his daughter. "I'll do my best to keep him in check."

She smiled gratefully as she stood up. "Thanks, dad." She told him as she grabbed her bag. "I need to go. I want to meet up with Haruhi before school."

Yuri was about to get up to drive her, but she stopped him. "Haruhi doesn't live too far away from here- he walks, so I thought I would join him."

Yuri smiled as he says back down. "Walking is good. Should Victor and I plan to pick up both you and your friends?"

"We'd have to pull out the van," Victor said with a look of disgust on his face. "Probably needs gas."

Yuri nodded in agreement.

"I think Tamaki was determined to make sure everyone went, so they're all going in one car after their club is over, but I'm not sure. I'll call you and let you know when I find out." She replied as she slipped on her shoes before opening the door. "I'll be back soon!"

She waved at her family and they waved back as she closed the door.

It shut with a small click and Yuri turned to Victor, a small smile on his face.

"You're right - she is growing up fast."

 

 

 

Elena ran down the sidewalk, passing people who stared at the girl running down the street in a really nice looking dress. She ignored all the stares and grinned widely in excitement at being able to see her friends again today, and being able to walk to school with one of them.

She saw the familiar blue of the Ouran uniform not much farther down the street, and her smile grew. 

"Haruhi!" She called out, waving an arm above her head to get the boy's attention.

He turned, looking confused for a moment before he smiled as well and waved back. "Hey!"

Elena caught up to him and took a moment to catch her breath before she spoke. "Good morning." 

"Good morning to you too," he replied as they began to walk. "Are you ready for your second day at Ouran?"

She nodded, a big smile on her face. "Yeah. This is the first time in a long time that I've been this excited for school."

"That's a good thing," Haruhi replied.

It was silent for a few moments as the two of them simply enjoyed the pleasant morning.

"What did your parents say about having the Host Club come to the ice rink?" Haruhi asked suddenly.

"I asked, and since you're all friends of mine, they said it was okay if you guys come after we close- they need to do some work there, so we can use it while they do that," Elena replied, getting excited for later in the day. "But my dad wanted to know if they should come pick us up after school or not."

"Tamaki would probably have a car waiting to take us after school." Haruhi told her, "He was so excited yesterday, he wouldn't stop talking after you left. He really likes having met you."

Elena's smile faded a little bit. "He creeped me out a little bit with all that flirting, though. Other than that, he's pretty cool."

"Don't worry." Haruhi gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "He won't be like that too much. After he's around you for a while, he would definitely be less flirty."

Elena smiled and thanked Haruhi for his kind words. It was at that moment that they arrived at Ouran. She could see a few limos, and fancy cars in front of the entrance, the rich students walking into the grounds. 

Haruhi and Elena followed the group, many of the girls giggling and saying hello and good morning to Haruhi, who politely replied back. Elena was mostly ignored, but she didn't mind it too much. She wasn't fond of being popular, or the center of attention.

"HARUHI! ELENA!" A voice yelled from the crowd, the two turning their heads in the direction they heard it from to see a tall blond running up to them waving their arms wildly. It was Tamaki.

Before either of them could register who the voice belonged to, they were trapped in someone's arms, being spun around and gripped tightly.

"Stop senpai!" Haruhi yelled. "I'm getting dizzy!"

Tamaki didn't seem to hear her, he was too busy talking and spinning them. "Don't worry Haruhi! Daddy's here! Oh, how I've missed you so much! It's been too long since I've seen you!"

"Mori-senpai! Help!" Haruhi called out. Elena had no idea what was happening, but she was starting to get sick of all the spinning when she and Haruhi were suddenly yanked out of the tight grip by a strong pair of arms.

All Elena could see for a while were colors as everything was spinning. Her feet touched the ground and she swayed. She automatically gripped the closest thing to her, trying to stay on her feet and not tip over. Soon, the world stopped spinning and turned to see what she had grabbed onto. She blushed lightly and squeaked, letting go of the front of Mori's shirt. He didn't say or do anything other than grabbing her elbow to stop her from tripping over her own two feet when she jumped back.

Elena could hear Haruhi and Tamaki talking loudly, Tamaki asking why Haruhi wouldn't let him hug her, and Haruhi pointing out his reasons as to why he can't.

Elena watched as the entire Host Club gathered around the two bickering Hosts, and she couldn't help but think about how they acted around each other.

At times, it seemed that they were almost protective of Haruhi. She found their relationships unique, unlike some she had seen before. There was something about them... Haruhi in particular, he was different from the other guys there at Ouran. She just couldn't figure out how.

The bell rang, jerking her from her thoughts. Haruhi was standing with the twins who shared a class with the two. Haruhi was looking at her weirdly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Haruhi asked a little worriedly. "You seemed to have zoned out a little bit."

Elena stared at him for a moment, taking the time for her brain to catch up again before she jerked back, quickly blurting out a reply. "I'm fine. Let's get to class."

She started walking with the three boys, staying a few paces away from them as the twins draped their arms around the brown haired boy, asking him some questions.

Elena breathed out a sigh of relief. She knew Haruhi didn't believe her answer, she could see it in his eyes. But what else should she say? She wasn't sure. Her cheeks reddened as she remembered what happened after Tamaki spun her and Haruhi. She would have to admit that all of the boys were very good looking, and that was not something she wanted to happen. You just don't go grabbing people's shirts! She wished he had some sort of reaction- that would probably make things less awkward for her.

She sighed again as she sat in her seat and looked out the window, her hands beginning to pick at her nails again. She really needs to get out of that habit soon. Her nails a horrifying. At least she's not a hand model or anything like that.

She was beginning to doubt that she would actually survive this school year.

 

At lunch, she sat with the Host Club again, discussing how things were to go that evening.

Kyoya said that she could join them at the club for the day, then carpool with them at the ice rink, or she could go ahead and they would meet her after the club.

Honey and the twins said she should go to the club, and she couldn't say no because the subject was changed immediately after. She sighed. She knew she could say something, but Kyoya still creeped her out, and she was still a little embarrassed after grabbing Mori's shirt like that after Tamaki spun her and Haruhi.

So she just sat there and replied to questions directed at her (if the other's didn't say it before her).

The bell rang and she sighed in relief, forgetting that the twins were dragging her to the club. She had left the classroom, her mind elsewhere as she happily walked along the sidewalk, humming a small tune to herself and keeping her head down, when the twins appeared next to her, walking alongside her, but she hadn't noticed them yet.

"Watcha doin?" Kaoru asked out of nowhere, causing her to jump and let out a small yelp and jump away from him and bump into Hikaru.

"Are you falling for me?" He joked as he caught her before she fell. She jumped away from him, and the two just laughed, and Elena jumped away, blush creeping onto her face.

"Come on, you're coming to the club, remember?" They told her as they began to guide her back inside the building and to Music Room 3.

Elena nervously began to pick at her nails and the skin around them. What would the other girls there think? I mean, she is spending some time outside of the club with them, something she was sure many of the girls is extremely jealous of. She's heard rumors starting to go around about her. How she's Haruhi's long lost sister who was adopted by some rich people when she was a baby, or that she's Honey and Mori's cousin who can't fight, and another that she has been bribing them to let her eat lunch with them.

She didn't want all of this attention. She would rather be hidden away from view, backstage, she didn't want all of this.

But there wasn't much she could do to stop it. At least some of them aren't too bad.

Hikaru and Kaoru dragged her through the doors to the room, rose petals falling around them. The Hosts were preparing for their guests for the day, laying out tea sets, and making sure the water for the tea and instant coffee is warm, and that there were enough seats.

They sat her down on one of the couches in the middle of the room then left her there as they went to prepare their area.

She was sitting with Honey and Mori in their area at the moment since they were ready for their guests.

"Hey, Ele-chan!" Honey exclaimed upon seeing her."Want some cake?"

She shook her head. "Net, spasibo, Honey. Maybe later."

He nodded and continued eating the cake he had, as Elena turned her head and looked out the window, letting her mind wander as the guests came in.

During the club hours, Elena jumped between Haruhi, and Honey and Mori's tables, once to Tamaki's, and the twins dragged her to theirs once, though she spent more time with Haruhi.

During that time, she could feel some of the girls staring at her and talking about her behind her back. She bit her lip, telling herself that it would all blow over soon.

She sighed in relief and sank into the couch as the last guests left. She couldn't wait to get out onto the ice.

"Alright men!" Tamaki said loudly to capture the Hosts attention. "Let's get to the ice rink and learn how to skate!"

"Alright!" Honey and the twins exclaimed as they headed to the door. Elena joined Haruhi as they followed Tamaki Kyoya, and Mori out of the doors.

Elena hummed contently as they walked down the sidewalk, walking on the edge of the curb when they went through a small and very much empty street, holding her arms out a little bit to keep her balance. She didn't notice the looks she got from some of the Hosts, though they weren't bad in the slightest. Haruhi thought it was funny how she lost her head in the clouds so easily. She had noticed the same thing happen many times during the club hours.

They reached the ice rink, and Elena unlocked the door and let them inside, before letting it close behind her.

"Hello? Elena? Is that you?" Yuri called from the office. 

"Yeah, Dad! It's me!" Elena called back as she threw her book bag behind the counter.

Yuri appeared around the corner, a big grin on his face. "How was school?"

"Fine." She answered before she turned to the Hosts standing behind her. "These are my friends," She proceeded to introduce him to each one, each one greeting him in their own way.

"Yuri!" Victor called out from the office. "Don't leave me to do this myself!"

Yuri sighed. "You guys go onto the ice. There should be someone to watch you guys in case something happens." He kissed Elena's forehead. "Be safe."

She told him goodbye before turning to her friends again. "You guys should go change into something else, and then we can get you guys your skates."

She showed them the changing room and let them be to go change herself. She pulled on some black leggings and a black long sleeved shirt before grabbing her skates and leaving.

She smiled at seeing the Hosts and led them behind the counter to the skates.

"What size are you all?" She asked, checking the skates she thought might be one of their sizes as Kyoya told her for all of them. She ignored the slight shiver that ran up her spine.

She made sure they were each fitted into the new skates before tying hers on. She made sure they could stand without falling over before she led them through the door to the rink.

There she saw a blond head skating gracefully out on the ice with a darker haired man next to him.

"Yurio! Bekka!" She exclaimed happily as she slid onto the ice before colliding with them.

They didn't have time to register who had called out their nicknames before the brown haired girl collided into them.

Yurio grunted as he realized who it was. "Oh, it's you. I didn't think you would be here today."

She pulled away. "I'm here with some friends from school. They wanted me to teach them how to skate." She told them.

Otabek ruffled her hair. "Then get to it. We'll leave you guys be." They skated to the nearest exit before stepping off the ice. Elena skated over to the group, a big grin on her face. 

"Well, um..." She trailed off, thinking how she should start. "Does anyone already know how to skate?" She asked.

Honey said he and Mori knew how to, while the others were silent.

"Well, let's start with getting you guys on the ice, I guess." She stepped off and went over to a back corner and into a closet where she pulled out some large penguins with handles. "These can help you guys balance if you need it." She pushed one onto the ice and let it slide.

"Whee!" Honey yelled as he slid onto the ice. She watched him and Mori glide on the ice for a few moments before urging the others to do the same.

Slowly but surely, they all were soon gliding and playing games. 

Elena was skating around the outer edge of the rink, watching them and correcting them when they needed it.

Soon they were all panting, but happy. Elena stood at the edge of the rink, still on the ice, as she watched them drink water and catch their breath.

"Hey, Ele-chan!" Honey said as he came up to her.

"Da Honey-senpai?" Elena asked as she looked to him.

"You can figure skate, right? Can you show us!" He looked very excited at the thought of her performing on the ice.

Elena's ears turned a light shade of red. "I-I don't know, senpai."

"Please!" He begged, leaning up closer to her, his eyes even bigger, if that was possible.

"Oh, just do it, El," Yurio grunted as he stood up. "I'll put on the music. Your dad told us that you've been working on copying some of their old performances anyway. I'd like to see it."

Elena's face reddened. "Fine." She grumbled as she skated to the center of the rink.

She got into her starting position and froze, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as she waited for the music to start.

It began and she began doing the movement she had watched her dad do in the videos so many times.

(I don't know how to describe it, but she does Yuuri's Eros routine)

The song ended, and she jerked into the final pose and froze, breathing heavily.

She had completely forgotten about her (small) audience, and nearly fell when she could hear their applause.

Yurio was smirking as he leaned against Otabek, and they were both clapping. "Good work. You could do your own. I'm sure they would love to see it."

Elena just blushed and didn't say anything as she stepped off the ice for some water.

"That was amazing Ele-chan!" Honey exclaimed. 

She hummed as she swallowed, her face was still red. Instead, she changed the subject. "Why don't you guys go on the ice again and practice some. Once you all get the hang of it, I'll teach you some other things."

They did as they were suggested and stepped back on after a few final words.

She kept to the edge with Yurio and Otabek as she watched the Hosts skate. She looked at how they were skating.

She watched Haruhi a little longer than the others. Something was still off about him to her. He was very feminine, even though he had grown up with only his dad for several years. She began to think about what it could be and didn't notice when they were stepping off the ice.

"Is something wrong?" Haruhi asked.

Elena shook the thoughts from her head. "No, nothings wrong." She pulled off her gloves and set them aside. "It's getting late. We can continue tomorrow." She smiled.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist and held it up. She turned to see Yurio. "You need to stop." He grunted as he looked at her nails.

She pulled her hand away. "I know." She muttered.

Haruhi was confused for a few moments before she noticed Elena's short nails, and she understood.

She sighed and sat down to take off her skates and placed them into her bag. After explaining to the Hosts how to care for the skates, she let them leave, sighing as she watched them go.

At least she still had time to prepare them for Victor ( and the other way around).


	3. Chapter 3

Elena sighed.

She slid across the ice, her arms out as she sped up preparing for the jump.

It had been nearly a month since she started teaching the Host Club. They have gotten very good at it and knew that soon Honey, Mori, and possibly Tamaki and Kyoya could start learning some jumps. Haruhi and the twins still had a little to go but were advancing quickly.

She began to think about how it was going. Hikaru (at least, she was pretty sure it was him) was falling behind his twin and Haruhi. He seemed more frustrated at not being able to do the same things as his friends, and it was slowing him down. She would have to do something.

Though it hasn't helped that they had to cancel two lessons because of a certain Host Club matter that Kyoya didn't mention (and she didn't dare ask). And she hadn't gone to the Club in a few days, so she hadn't thought to ask. During school hours.

Not long after their first lesson, they met Victor. 

She was happy that they went smoother than she thought they were going to. She thought he was going to grip her tight and yell at them to not try anything. Luckily, Yuri had talked to him the night before, and that Kyoya had contacted them and explained everything, promising that he would tell them everything that happened when Elena was with them.

But she didn't know that.

Victor and Yuri were also happy that she was slowly getting out of her shell thanks to the Host Club. They noticed she smiled more and was excited to go to school- something that never happened back at her old school.

She didn't even care she had to wear a dress as the uniform - something that surprised them, as when she was 12, she had tried to convince them to let her wear a suit and tie to a formal party instead of a dress (they still wouldn't let her, though).

And the rumors had all stopped. Tamaki had addressed all of their costumers, where he told them that she was not related to any of them, but that she was working with the Host Club for a special project that should be ready by Christmas. This got them all talking, and she had many girls asking her what it was. Kyoya swore her to secrecy, so she couldn't tell them anything. Now the only rumors about her that floated around were about what the surprise could be. And they had some interesting theories.

She spun and landed on the ice, but because of the thoughts jumbled up in her mind, she fell back. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her lower back before she stood up and tried it again.

She was working on a routine no one else knew about. Not her dads, not Yurio or Otabek, no one. She didn't want them to know about it.

She tried the section again, this time she was determined to make the jump. But fell once again after she caught a glimpse of red hair out of the corner of her eyes. She jerked her head over to look and saw someone she wasn't expecting to see for at least another day.

"Hey." One of the twins greeted (she didn't know which one he was)

"Oh, uh hi." She stood up and skated to the edge of the rink and leaned on it. "What brings you here? And where's your brother?"

"I came alone. I was hoping to ask for a favor."

She raised her eyebrow in surprise. "What is that?"

"I want to get better. Everyone else is getting ahead of me, and I want to catch up to them."

She nodded her head, realizing what he was asking of her. "So you want some private lessons."

"Yeah, I suppose you could say it like that."

She smiled. "Well then get your skates on..." She was trying to figure out which twin this one was.

He gave her a small smile in return as he sat on the bench and tied on the skates. It was silent for a few moments as her brain tried to determine what differences the twins had so she could try and recognize him.

"Hikaru." he stated suddenly, causing her to jump from her thoughts.

"What?' She blinked, her mind not yet registering it.

"Hikaru. I'm Hikaru." He replied as he stood up. "You were trying to figure out which twin I am."

"Oh." She blinked twice before getting off the wall of the rink and sliding the entry with a smile. "Well then, Hikaru. Let's get started."

They spent an hour there on the ice, and Elena taught him to laugh his mistakes off - this was practice, he didn't have to worry about her judging him. She had failed worse that he has.

The two sat on the benches sipping their water as they caught their breaths. She had given him many tips to help him get better, and she could definitely see him improving already.

"Thank you." Elena jerked her head to look at him a little confused.

"For what?" 

"For taking the time to teach me. You probably had better things to do than helping me. Probably improving yourself, or doing homework or something, but you took the time to help me get better at it. So, thanks." Hikaru wouldn't look her in the eye, instead taking interest in his water bottle.

She smiled softly and poked his arm, causing him to look at her had confused as to why she poked him.

"Of course I would help you. You're my friend now."

He smirked before grabbing her wrist, much like Yurio, Otabek, and her dads too often. "You're nails are horrible. You pick at your cuticles, and bite them?" He asked as he inspected each nail one at a time. He was back to how he usually is.

She tried to pull her hand away. "I don't bite them." She lowered her voice. "I tear them. It's a bad habit."

"I'll say." Hikaru let her hand go and she placed it on her lap. "You should probably stop. Your nails are as short as they can be."

She rolled her eyes. "I know. Everyone tells me that all the time."

He chuckled lightly before he began to undo the knot on his skates. "It's getting late, so I should probably go home."

Elena nodded agreeing with him as she undid the knot in her laces. "Do you have a ride home?" She asked, pulling off the first skate.

"Yeah." He replied as he also pulled off his skate. "I have a driver outside."

She nodded as she placed the skates in her bag, zipping it up before she stood. "I'll walk you out- I need to make sure to lock up."

Hikaru nodded and he joined her in walking out of the rink.

One of her dads would come sometime soon to completely lock the place up, but at the moment they had a couple workers cleaning up.

She led Hikaru out, making sure the door was closed before she started her way down the sidewalk that she knew led to her home about a block away.

"Do you need a ride?" Hikaru taunted lightly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It's not that far." She told him. "I can walk."

"Yeah, but I'm here with a car. So I can give you a ride." He said grabbing her arm. "Come on."

She didn't bother trying to fight him. It was getting very dark, and she knew this wasn't the safest part of town, and she was tired after all the skating she had done.

He lightly pushed her into the limo, and her eyes widened slightly at seeing the interior. The seats were lined with soft leather, there was a soft carpet on the floor, and a mini fridge with a glass door filled with fancy drinks and snacks, and a television on one side.

"What's your address?" Hikaru asked as they sat down.

She ran her hand on the leather as she told him, still taking in everything. She felt the car begin to move, and she turned her head to look out the window behind her.

Hikaru was seated across from her, smiling. He remembered that Haruhi didn't act that way when she was dragged into their car. He thought this was funny to see.

She turned back to him. "This is so strange." She said quietly.

He chuckled. "You haven't been in a limo before?"

"Not really. We use normal cars, and whenever there was a limo, it was usually to take my dads to some big skating event that I couldn't go to for one reason or another."

She was still absentmindedly rubbing her hand up and down on the leather seat, Hikaru watching her hand. "The leather is imported from India. Our mother found it on one of her trips and fell in love with it."

She looked down at the seats. "It's really soft."

He nodded and began to finger one of the straps from his bag. "Can I come for another lesson one day?"

"Sure. Just call me beforehand, yeah?"

He nodded again, staring out the window, just watching the building pass them. It was silent for a few moment before she decided to say something. "My Dad wants you guys to come for dinner one day to get to know all of you." 

He turned to look at her. "You'd have to let Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai know. Probably Kyoya-senpai."

She nodded as the limo slowed to a stop in front of her house. She grabbed her bag as the chauffer opened the door for her. "Thanks for the ride." She told the redhead in the car. "Let me know when you want to do this again."

He nodded. "Got your number here." He held up his cell phone as if to prove what he said was true. 

She nodded and waved goodbye and thanked the driver as she stepped up to the door to her house. She held the handle for a moment as she turned to watch the car pull away before she turned back and slowly opened the door. She was greeted by a small body attaching itself to her legs. 

"LENA!" Jacob exclaimed. "Who was that?! Are they famous?! Why was their car so long?! Why did they give you a ride home in the long car?!"

She chuckled and ruffled his hair and dragged him along on the floor as she tried to walk into the next room while she answered his questions.

"That was a friend from school, his name is Hikaru, he's part of the Club no he's not famous, his car was so long because it's a limo, and I was teaching him to skate, and he offered me a ride home."

Jacob gasped. "He's one of your boyfriends?!"

She blushed and hid it by digging through the fridge as Jacob got himself off the floor. "They're not my boyfriends. He's just a friend."

"That's a boy."

"That doesn't mean he's my boyfriend."

"Yes, it does. He's a boy and he's your friend."

She sighed and bit into an apple. There was no arguing with him. She flopped onto the couch, half laying down across it, half sitting.

"Let's watch a movie!" He cheered as he jumped onto the other couch.

"Which one?" She asked before taking another bite from the apple.

Jacob stood up and grabbed several DVD cases which he placed them on the table in front of her. "You pick."

She grabbed the top one, reading the title. Spirited Away. Jacob loved Studio Ghibli movies, and she quickly realized that he grabbed their entire collection of the movies. She grabbed her favorite one and stood up to put it on since Jacob doesn't know which buttons to press.

She put the DVD in and turned the tv on before grabbing the remote. She threw her core away before collapsing on the couch again, this time completely laying down, one leg on the ground, the other over the armrest, and one arm resting on her stomach, the other hanging off the couch, less than an inch from the floor.

She watched the movie start, Jacob yelling out the movie title as soon as it began. "Howl's Moving Castle!"

She chuckled and tried to focus on the movie, but her mind was elsewhere. 

Why did Hikaru not ask a professional to teach him? Why didn't the Host get a professional teacher to teach them? Why her? She supposed it had to do with Tamaki since he was the one who asked her to do it. But why was Tamaki intent on having her teach them?

Tamaki was strange, she decided.

Another thing on her mind was Haruhi. After a month, he still seemed off to her. There was something different about him. His eyes were very big, making him seem very feminine, and his voice much higher than other boys.

She scowled. Why did Haruhi remind her so much of a girl?

The thoughts left her mind as she slowly drifted asleep,

 

 

The next school day, she left in a rush after waking up late.

She stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth and grabbed her bag, a second piece of toast, and an apple before rushing to the door.

She pulled out the piece of toast she had in her mouth, yelled a goodbye to her dads and brother, and rushed out the door.

She ran to the school, eating her toast as she went. She didn't slow down as she reached the school gates and didn't pay attention to anything in front of her, causing her to run into the someone and her bag to fall and its contents to scatter everywhere.

She freaked out and started to collect her things. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She exclaimed, grabbing the many pens and pencils she had, much more than was needed.

"It's fine. Are you ok?" He asked as he bent down to help her, gathering all of her books into a pile.

"I'm fine." She breathed out as she placed her books back onto her bag. "Thank you." They both stood up, and she finally got a look at the boy who helped her. He had long red hair and a mean look on his face. She bit her bottom lip nervously at the look he had. Was he angry at her? She decided to ask. "Are you sure it's fine?" 

"No, I'm not. It's just my face. I always look angry." He replied as he scratched the back of his head.

She breathed out a small sigh of relief. "Oh. That's good. I mean! Not that you always look angry, just that you aren't angry. I wasn't saying that it's good that your face is always angry, that's not too much of a good thing-" She stopped, her face slowly growing redder. "Sorry. I'll stop now."

To her surprise, he actually started laughing a little. "It's okay. Most people would have left already since they're scared of me, so I don't have many friends. I've been working on it with the help of some guys from a club, but it hasn't helped much."

She smiled. "Maybe we could get to know each other a bit." She held out her hand to shake. "I'm Elena."

He grinned and shook her hand. "Kasanoda Ritsu. It would be nice to have a friend. He jerked hs thumb behind him. "Let me walk you inside."

She gave him a toothy smile. "That would be nice."

As they walked through the gates and into the main courtyard, she could see everyone watching them, both boys and girls and many were whispering behind their hands and giving them looks. After working with the Host Club, she ignored any and all rumors, even if she had nothing to do with them.

"So what do you like to do?" Ritsu asked suddenly.

"I like to dance and figure skate, but I'm not the best." She shrugged lightly. "It's still fun though."

"I'm sure you're better than I am." Ritsu chuckled. "I probably couldn't even stand."

She laughed, accidentally snorting. She covered her mouth and blushed. Ritsu laughed, and she couldn't help but laugh with him.

The two of them reached the main building, still laughing. Their laughs slowed to a chuckle, and she managed to chuckle out a few words. "Thanks for walking me here."

He managed a reply. "No problem. I have plans this evening, but maybe we could hang out tomorrow? I can meet you at the entrance tomorrow morning."

"Sure. It would be nice to see you again," she gave him a small wave as she went inside the building. "See you later, Ritsu!"

She saw him wave back as he turned around in the direction of his class.

She smiled. She made a new friend today.

 

 

She was still smiling after class as she put her books away. Suddenly she was trapped between two redheads.

"Hey, Elena-"

"You haven't been at club in a few days-"

"You should come today."

She bit her lip as she thought, then shook her head. "No, I need to get some practice in. But are you guys coming today?"

"You'd have to ask Kyoya." They replied simultaneously.

She sighed. She hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. She was about to come up with an excuse so she didn't have to ask him when their arms linked with hers and they dragged her from the classroom and down the hall to the Club room with Haruhi following close behind. She let them drag her, not bothering to fight against them. It was pointless, anyway.

They opened the doors with a bang and dragged her inside, Haruhi behind them.

"Ele-chan!" Honey exclaimed and hugged her around the waist upon seeing her. "You haven't visited in so long!"

She patted his head. "Sorry, Honey-sempai. I've been a little busy. But I can't stay too long. I just wanted to see if you guys are coming to the rink today."

"Can't you stay for a little bit?" Honey asked, looking up at her wide-eyed.

She bit her lip. "I guess I can for a little bit."

"YAY!" Honey cheered as he let her go, only to grab her hand and drag her to one of the couches.

She sat down across from Mori and Honey plopped down next to her. "Do you want some cake? We have chocolate and strawberry, and I think we have some lemon too!"

She contemplated it for a moment. "I think I would like the chocolate, please senpai."

He handed her a plate and they had a nice conversation along with the twins and Haruhi as they waited for Tamaki and Kyoya.

Finally, after a few minutes, the blond and dark haired teens walked in.

"Elena!" Tamaki exclaimed when he saw her. "It's so good that you've come! Your skating lessons have been superb!"

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Tamaki. But since you haven't come to the lessons in the past few days, I came to see iff you were coming today."

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "Yes, we will be attending this evening, and I did mean to ask you if it is alright for us to bring another person with us. You see, Tamaki is determined to help this person, and he wants him to attend with us in the hopes it will help them. Is that alright?"

She thought for a moment. "They would need skates, and we have the rentals, and the shop where he can get some, so it should be fine, I think."

"Great! Thank you, Elena!" Tamaki hugged her tightly, making it hard for her to breathe.

"Tamaki... need... to breathe!" As soon as she said that, Tamaki let her go and she gasped for breath. "Thanks."

Tamaki was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, and she gave him a smile to reassure him she was alright, then gathered her things. "I better get to the ice rink. I'll see you guys there."

They all chorused a goodbye, and she waved to them as she left the room.

She was smiling the entire walk to the rink, happily humming a tune to a song she couldn't remember the name of, and just letting her mind wander.

She was glad she had met the Host Club.

 

 

She listened to the tune of the music and let her feet guide her as she slid across the ice, spinning around to the song she has heard so many times.

She hadn't paid any attention to what time it was, too lost in the moves and the music to notice anything going on around her.

so she didn't notice when the Host Club walked in.

 

 

The group stood at the door staring at the closed sign hanging on the inside of the door.

"Should we go in?" The twins asked at the same time.

"I suppose we can since she is expecting us," Kyoya replied as he adjusted his glasses. "If anyone asks, we can simply tell them the truth."

Haruhi reached out and pulled on the handle of the door, and it opened. Thr group shuffled in, searching for the familiar face.

Ritsu Kasanoda entered behind them, looking around. He wasn't sure how they managed to convince him to come here. Four of them he considered idiots, and they were the reason he was here. At least it's better than some of their other ideas.

Haruhi picked up a piece of paper sitting on top of the desk and read it out loud. "On the ice. Kyoya sent me your friend's size, I have skates that should fit him with me. Come to the rink when you're all ready."

"How do you know my size?" Ritsu asked looking at Kyoya.

Tamaki and the twins freaked out. "Forgive him Bossanova! He didn't mean anything by it!"

Ritsu rolled his eyes and pulled his bag higher up his shoulder. It was just a question.

He was led to a set of double doors that led into a changing room, where he was then handed a set of clothes to change into. A black long sleeved shirt, and black tight pants. At least it was better than skating in his school uniform, so he took them and quickly changed into the before joining the others in front of the lockers.

"Let's go, Bossanova!" Tamaki yelled dramatically as he nearly strutted to another set of double doors, labeled 'RINK' in big red letters. They could hear music coming from it, along with the sounds of skates scraping the ice.

When the doors were opened, the music was much louder, and they could see a girl gliding across the ice. Ritsu couldn't make out who it was, he was mesmerized watching her graceful moves.

All of them simply stood there, one of them hadn't seen her skate before, the other's not having seen it for almost a month. But this one was different. She seemed more at peace this time.

Suddenly they hear a yelp and she fell down on the ice, sliding a few feet before hitting her head on the railing in front of them. They began to peek over to see if she was alright but jumped back when she shot up.

"When did you get here?!" She exclaimed, breathing heavily.

"Just now. Your skating was so pretty, Ele-chan!" Honey commented, causing a blush to rise onto her cheeks.

She ignored the comment instead turning to the rest of the group. "You said you were bringing a friend..." She trailed off, noticing the redhead standing in the back, watching her.

"Ritsu?" She questioned, skating to the entrance and stepping off the ice and to the group. "I wasn't expecting you."

Tamaki and the twins yelped at hearing how she spoke to Ritsu Kasanoda, the scariest person in school, and proceeded to warn her.

"Elena, maybe you shouldn't-" Both Elena and Ritsu ignored their excessive chattering.

"Nice to see you again, Elena." Ritsu greeted back casually. "I didn't recognize you while you were skating. How's your head? You ok? You hit that wall pretty hard just now."

Elena blushed again as Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru went white and froze mid-scream.

Kyoya simply watched the entire thing in amusement.


	4. Chapter 4

Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru had their mouths hanging open.

Kyoya looked amused.

Honey was looking between Elena and Ritsu.

Mori and Haruhi were indifferent.

Ritsu was waiting for an answer.

And Elena was blushing, embarrassed from her mistake.

"I'm fine." She replied with a nervous smile. "I've had worse falls."

Ritsu nodded, happy that his friend wasn't sriously injured. "They dragged me here to skate, I guess you're going to show me how?"

Elena nodded before she turned to the Hosts. "Go get changed and put your skates on, then meet me back out here. And get him," She jerked her thumb to Ritsu, "some better clothes."

They all shuffled off, dragging along Tamaki who was still frozen in shock.

Elena sighed after the double doors leading to the locker rooms closed. She was not prepared for an eighth student. She was amazed she could handle the ones she had now.

She put her face in her hands and took a deep breath. Kasanoda doesn't know about her dads-rights? And even if he did, she wouldn't think that he would treat her like the kids back in Russia did. They all seem to like her for her, not who her parents are.

That probably has to do with the fact that they were all rich and saw famous people often.

Except Haruhi. Haruhi grew up much like she did- normally. Not getting everything you want when you want it. Actually working for it. Sure her dad's were rich and fomous, but that doesn't mean she didn't learn to work for things. Sometimes when they had an event, she would stay with her grandparnts in Hatetsu and help out at the inn. 

She was glad Haruhi was too nice and honest to be like her old classmates.

The doors opened again and she looked up to see them all coming back in. She smiled, pushing all of the thoughts aside. 

"So go onto the ice, I'm going to get Ritsu into his skates." She recieved a nod from all of the Hosts as they did as they were told, and she grabbed the skates she had pulled out for the redhead.

She made sure the skates were n tight and the laces out of the way before leading him onto the ice.

He caught on quickly, and was soon skating along with the rest of them, though not as fast.

Elena was on the sidelines watching them and correcting them if needed. She saw how much they had improved.

Soon, the lessons were over, and she felt sad, wishing it could have lasted longer.

She led them out and locked the door and turned on the alarm before following them to the curb of the street where several cars sat waiting.

"I hope you come back, Ritsu." Elena said as she put the keys away.

"I think I might. It really is a lot of fun."

She waved to them as their limos drove off, and she walked down the street with Haruhi, both laughing happily.

"It's good that you and Kassanoda get along. He really does need some good friends here at Ouran." Haruhi said, a small smile on her face as she remembered what happened only an hour ago.

Elena smiled. "He was really nice to me this morning, he didn't get mad at me for running into him, instead he helped me."

At that time, Elena had reached her house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Haruhi!" She called.

Haruhi turned back to look at her and waved as she continued walking. Elena waved back as she entered her home to be tackled by the small form of her brother.

"LENA!" He screamed. "Tell Daddy that we need to go with them! Tell him!"

"Go where?" she asked confused as she threw down her bag and made her way to the kitchen.

"To Hatetsu." Yuri answered from the kitchen as she entered. He kissed her forehead in a greeting before going back to making dinner. "Papa and I are going there to help out with a few things. But we're leaving Friday morning, so you guys can't go, sorry."

She huffed. "Why does it seem like you always leave us out of the fun stuff?"

Yuri chuckled as Victor dramatically made his way into the kitchen from the living room. "I'm sorry!" He exclaimed as he strangled the two in a hug. "But we will be back Saturday, and we will bring you both something!"

She lightly punched her dad. "Will I have to pick up the small monster from school?" She asked, refering to Jacob.

Jacob pouted. "I'm not a small monster!" Elena just ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, can you?" Yuri asked. "I know you're still teaching the Host club skating, but it's only for one day. He can watch the tv in the office or something."

Elena waved it off. "I'll take care of it, don't worry."

The two men sighed as they watched their two children leave the kitchen-one to change out of their uniform, the other to set up a game or movie to do with his sister.

"Yuri, they're growing up. I feel old." Victor whined lightly.

"You are old." Yuri teased with a grin.

Victor placed a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Yuri!" he whined. "That doesn't make me feel any better!"

Victor hugged his husband from behind as Yuri stirred the food in the pot in front of him.

 

 

 

The days until Friday flew by, and Elena had completely forgotten to tell the Hst Club about her fathers' trip.

Until she had to pick Jacob up from school Friday evening. 

"Hey, Elena! Let's go!" The twins chanted.

She was bout to follow them, when she remembered what she was told this morning.

"Don't forget to pick up your brother today, alright? We're counting on you." Yuri told her as he helped Jacob put his backpack on.

"Got it. Let's go!"

"Sorry, guys. I have to pick Jacob up today. But I'll see you at the rink, okay?"

the brothers and Haruhi looked sad at first, but agreed to see her at the rink with the rest of the club that evening.

As she walked down the sidewalk to the ice rink that day, she watched the sky. the clouds were darkening, she was sure it was going to rain.

"Come on, Lena!" Jacob said as he pulled her along. "Let's go!"

She giggled as she let him drag her past the people, making sure to not loose him.

 

The two were skating in circles at the rink, Jacob giggling happily as he slid, spinning until he got dizzy.

Elena watched him, and joined him sometimes, but mainly kept to herself as she watched him spin, making sure he didn't hurt himself.

She sent Jacob to the office to watch something or get started on his homework once the Host Club came in.

"Elena!" Tamaki exclaimed as he ran in, wrapping his arms around her and pinning her arms to her sides. "We missed you!"

She gasped in a breath once she was released. "Sorry. My dads are out of town, so I had to pick up Jacob. But let's get started! Out onto the ice!" She said enthusiastically.

She greeted Ritsu separately since he decided to join them again today.

The time there went as normal, and soon it was over. She was putting her things away when two redheads kept her between them. "Hey, Elena-" The one on her right started.

"Can we go to your house?"

"Why?" she asked as she continued to place her things into her bag. 

"We want to see what your house looks like." They continued.

She hummed a moment as she thought. "I suppose. But try not to make a mess- my dad would kill me. Is everyone coming?"

"I'm sure Tono would like to come."

"Honey would, and Mori would follow."

"Just ask them and let me know." Elena interrupted as she shouldered her bag. "I need to get Jacob before we go."

She left them to figure out how many guests she was going to have, and went to the office where Jacob was watching Pokemon happily as he sang along to the main theme.

"Hey, J, let's go. Where's your shoes?" She asked as she noticed his feet that only had two different socks - one with pokemon on them, the other with elephants.

"Over there." He answered as he turned off the tv and pointed to the corner where he had discarded his shoes.

She sighed and grabbed them handing them to the boy and he pulled them on, as she checked everything that needed to be checked before she grabbed the keys and left with Jacob.

At the entrance, the entire group was gathered, and the twins rn up to her as soon as they saw her.

"Everyone is going." the one she believed to be Hikaru told her, and she nodded.

"Your friends are coming?" Jacob asked as he watched his sister lead the group of boys (and one girl) out the door before she locked it.

"Yeah. We weren't going to do anything, so why not?"

Jacob lookd excited and he started to bounce around cheering. "Yay! Friends are coming! Friends are coming!"

elena chuckled as she joined the group where they were wainting on the sidealk for the siblings. Strangely, today there weren't any limos on the side of the road.

She held Jacobs hand as she led the group to their home, all of them chatting happily. Elena was talking with Ritsu happily as Jacob rambled to Tamaki, who listened intently.

"And the ball fell out of her bag and rolled down a little close to the Psyduck and the Psyduck wobbled up to the ball and hit it with hs beak and made it get big and then he hit it again and got himself caught in the ball. So now she has a Psyduck, but she doesn't want him because he always has a headache and can be realy annoying. But my favorite part o the show is when the defeat Team Rocket, and they yell 'We're blasting off again!' and they fly away and there's a 'ding!' as they dissapear into the sky."

Tamaki was nodding his head as he listened to the boy ramble on about the show. Haruhi stood next to them and was watching her friend with a small smile as he talked to the boy.

"We're here," Elena announced as they reached the front of their house.

"It's smaller than we expected." The twins announced as they walked up to the door, looking at their surroundings. There were a few potted plants on the front, and a large tree, but that was it.

"Its big for a family of four, really. But we have guests so often, we ended up getting a bigger house." Elena explained as she unlocked the door.

She led them inside, flicking on the lights. "I'll make some tea. You can go wait in the living room. Jacob is probably putting on a movie right now."

They agreed and seated themselves on the couches as Jacob pulled out the DVD cases. He put them on the table in front of the guests and spread them out. 

"This is my favorite," Jacob told them as he placed one to the side. "What do you guys want to watch?" He asked, looking at them.

They all (minus Mori and Kyoya) looked at some of the boxes, commenting on them as they made a decision.

"Howl's moving Castle," Ritsu mused. "I don't think I've seen this one."

Jacob grinned as he did his best not to jump around. "That's Lena's favorite movie! We watch it a lot! She has a crush on Howl, and said she wanted to marry him." Jacob giggled.

From the kitchen, Elena barely heard him and waved it off as nothing as she brought in some tea and cookies. "Jacob, what are you talking about?" She asked curiously.

"I told them that it's your favorite movie and that you have a crush on Howl." 

Her face turned red as she blushed, and nearly dropped the tray as she was putting it down on the table. "You didn't have to tell them that." she muttered, not looking any of them in the eye, her face getting redder.

"But it's true. You said yesterday when you thought we couldn't hear that you would marry him." Jacob continued.

She glared lightly at him, trying to tell him to keep quiet.

The twins put their arms around her shoulders. "Is someone embarrassed?" They teased.

"Don't worry, my dear Elena!" Tamaki said dramatically. "That is nothing to be embarrassed about!"

She ignored them, and soon the topic was changed when Jacob reminded them to pick out a movie, and so, because the twins wished to tease their friend, they convinced the rest of the group to watch Howl's moving castle and poked the girl's side good naturedly every time Howl came onto the screen.

She tried her best to ignore them, as they rest of them made a conversation as they watched the movie, except for Tamaki and Jacob, who were happily watching it (even though one of them had watched it before and was doing his best not to spoil it).

At the end, Jacob was sitting next to Elena's feet as he chewed on a cookie, watching her talk with Haruhi.

"Hey, Lena." He interrupted, making them look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Why is Haruhi dressed like a boy?"

The Host's suddenly looked nervous (other than Haruhi, Mori, and Kyoya). Elena couldn't think why.

"Because Haruhi is a boy?" She replied, not sure why he asked that.

"But Haruhi's a girl. Why is she wearing the boy's uniform?"

The twins covered the boy's mouth as they along with Tamki began to make excuses. Ritsu nervously looked around, avoiding eye contct with everyone.

"Oh, Haruhi is just very feminine looking! People say he looks like a girl all the time! But look at how manly he is! Just look-" Elen tuned them out as she processed it.

She had thought something was off ever since she first met Haruhi. And he always did look very feminenie. But could Haruhi really be female? It's possible. That would explain why Haruhi seemed off to her.

Jacob had finally managed to pry the twins' hands off of his face. "Haruhi is a girl!"

Tamaki and the twins were about to reply to that, when Haruhi spoke up. "Yes, I'm a girl. Stop freaking out guys. We've known her for a while now, haven't we? I'm sure she can keep a secret." Haruhi turned to look at Elena. "Right?"

Elena quickly nodded, as it registered. Haruhi was a girl! 

Haruhi smiled. "See guys! Everything's fine!"

"So you are a girl?" Elena asked Haruhi, wanting to be sure she was hearing right.

Haruhi nodded in reply. "Yeah. But I don't really care what gender people see me as. It's what's inside that counts, right?"

Elena smiled. "I am definitely inviting you around more often."

Haruhi gave her a smile as the Tamaki and the twin's calmed down.Ritsu still looked around nervously as Kyoya checked the time. 

"I do believe now would be a good time for us to take our leave. " He stood up, and the Hosts agreed and stood as well. "Thank you for inviting us over." He continued.

Elena stood as well. "It was nice to have you all over." She smiled.

Jacob jumped onto the couch and leaned over it to get a good look at them. "Bye!" He said loudly. "Come again soon!"

Tamaki ruffled the boy's head as he passed, following Elena and the Hosts to the front door.

After a few more goodbyes, Elena stood on the porch as she watched them get into their cars, the twins giving Haruhi a ride back to her place. (she helped Kyoya and Honey distract Tamaki long enough for them to get into the car and drive off.) There was a lot of whines that Haruhi didn't love her daddy and would rather get into a car with those 'shady twins'.

She watched as the last car drove off with a sigh. Tamaki was difficult to understand.

Ritsu was the last to leave. "Thanks for not freaking out about Fujioka. It took me a while to get used to it, and I'm still not, and I hope Ootori doesn't think I had anything to do with your brother knowing." He rambled, shutting his mouth after he realized that. "Sorry." He blushed slightly.

She raised an eyebrow. "It's alright, Ritsu. But you better go before it gets too dark." She paused as another thought came to her. "And I still need to make dinner..."

Ritsu gave her a small smile as he opened his door. "I'll see you at school. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call, okay?"

She smiled and nodded. "Okay. Drive safe!" She waved as she watched him drive off.

She entered the house again, locking the door behind her, and collapsed on the couch and let her arm drape over her face. In the background, she could hear Jacob watching My Neighbor Totoro.

She let the recent events go through her mind again as she let it process. Haruhi was a girl. How could she not tell? How did Jacob know? She supposed it had to be a mystery of the universe on how he did.

She lifted her arm to look at her younger brother who was sitting on the floor making Soot Sprites out of black pom-poms and googly eyes, looking up at the screen every few seconds. 

She sighed and sat up to make dinner for the two of them.

She hoped things didn't change now that she knew their secret.

 

 

 

 

The days flew by. 

Nothing much changed between her and the Hosts. She had begun to invite Haruhi around more often, and they got along great being able to talk about different topics they can't with the Hosts, and just be girls (even if neither of them are very girly).

she went to Haruhi's one day, and met her father.

He reminded her of her dad, Victor, and Tamaki. She liked him.

"Oh, Haruhi!" Ranka exclaimed after he had been introduced to Elena. "I wish you had introduced me to Elena sooner! She seems like a really sweet young girl!"

Elena just smiled. Ranka then sat the two girls down and began to talk to them, wanting to get to know his daughter's friend. 

"Elena, Haruhi told me your parents are Victor and Yuuri Nikiforov-Katsuki! Is that true?" Ranka asked softly with a smile before he took a sip of his tea.

Elena blushed slightly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, that's fantastic! A few of my friends from the bar and I are big fans of theirs. They are amazing at what they do. And adorable together as well!" Ranka told her happily.

Elena just blushed a little harder as she scratched the back of her head nervously.

She was never going to get used to hearing that.

Victor and Yuuri met Haruhi as well, when they got back. Victor was happy knowing his daughter had a friend of the same gender to talk to (they couldn't help her with everything).

She had Ritsu had also begun to hang out a lot more. They were closer as friends now, and it seemed that she was one of the first people Ritsu went to when he needed to talk to someone. And she was glad to be there for him. He was so happy when Makkachin wasn't scared stiff of him.

Victor and Yuuri also noticed her change in attitude, and it was great. Elena wasn't cooped up in her room alone all day, or watching movies with her brother, or skating by herself, like she used to before she met the Host Club.

She was happier and much brighter. She was excited for school (something that hadn't happened since they homeschooled her for a few years in order for her to learn enough Russian to go to school), and she was much happier than they had ever seen her.

They were glad for this change. They saw the excitement in her eyes, heard it in her voice (weather she was speaking either Russian, Japanese, English or Spanish).

Things changed with one knock on their door one morning.

The Host Club had been getting much better, and she had enlisted the help of her dads, Yurio, Otabek, Phichit, and a few other of her dads's old competitors that came to visit often to help, making things go much faster. (Yurio scared Tamaki out of his skin when it was his turn to help coach.)

She was telling Victor what she had planned for them that day when a knock came from the door. Yuri opened it to reveal a well dressed man holding a folder with several papers. 

"Hello. Is this the Nikiforov-Katsuki residence?" He questioned.

"Yes," Yuuri replied, curious as to what the man wanted.

"I need to speak to you about an important matter. I am Takara Nakamura, with social services." the man held up an ID that indeed proved that he was part of social services.

Yuuri looked behind him at his family that was sitting at the table, laughing happiy. Yuuri was worried about what might happen to them. He turned back to the man and took a step to the side, allowing the man room to enter. "Come on in. We can talk in the kitchen."

The man agreed and followed him into the kitchen. As soon as they entered, all noise stopped as they turned to see the man.

"He's with social services." Was all Yuuri told his husband, and the two kids were hurriedly rushed out of the kitchen so that the three men could talk. Yuuri quickly told Elena and Jacob to go watch a movie or something, and that he would call the school that they wouldn't be at school that day before hurriedly leaving the room.

Elena looked at the door he had left through, her mind filled with thoughts as to why the man had come. Was he going to take them away? What would happen then? She wouldn't be able to see her friends again. And She had just made some good ones!

She sat down slowly, letting thoughts go through her mind. All the worst scenarios playing in her head as she watched Jacob put something on, completely oblivious as to what was going on. Not understanding the dire situation.

What if they split her and Jacob up?

She couldn't live with that. She couldn't.

Yuuri and Victor came in almost a half hour later with the social worker. Yuuri paused whatever was playing on the television and told him to go to his room and wait, leaving Elena in her shool uniform as she picked at her nails nervously.

At least Jacob would stay with Yuuri and Victor if her theory was right.

They listened to Jacob thump up the stairs and waited until it was silent to say anything.

"Elena, there is an important matter we need to speak of." The social worker said. "Please listen carefully."


	5. Chapter 5

Elena sat there, her stomach churning.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she waited for the man to continue.

She had a bad feeling. She didn't want him here. She wanted him to go away. to never come back. 

To leave her here. Where she was happy. Where she felt loved. Where she knew she would be taken care of. Where she had friends and a family she loved (even if they were mainly men).

"Elena, my name is Takara Nakamura." He opened his folder and went through some papers as he talked. "And I am here to inform you of something very important, that must be taken care of immediately."

She swallowed the lump in her throat again and began to tear at her nails nervously. She looked to her dads, both had sad looks on their faces.

"You have some relatives that are alive. And they want to see you."

Elena's eyes widened as the words processed. Alive? Relatives? She was sure they had all died years and years ago. Her dad was an orphan that was never adopted, and her mother had no known relatives other than her parents, but they died when she was six. So who could it be?

She couldn't look any of them in the eye and just stared at the table where Nakamura was laying papers down on the table.

"They are related to your mother. Your aunt, and cousins. They want to see you, and take you back."

She didn't look at him.

The man sighed and laid a picture in front of her. In it, were a man and a woman, the woman having features that reminded her of her mother.

She could see the resemblance to her mother and herself.

"They said they had cut all ties with your mother and her parents about a year before you were born because they did not agree with your aunt marrying your uncle. They recently decided to try and reconnect, only to find out that they had already died. They want you to go live with them in New York."

She was silent. What should she say? She didn't know these people. For all she knew, they could be lying. 

But if they weren't, she would probably be sent to them anyway. She would have to leave her life here in Japan behind. Leave her dads, and Jacob, and the Host Club, and Ritsu.

Everyone.

"You can have some time to think about this. But we will need an answer. Give it some thought." Nakamura stood up, taking the papers, but leaving the photo.

Victor and Yuuri followed him to the kitchen where they began to talk again.

Elena didn't move, and tears began to pool in her eyes. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to. 

She stood up abruptly and darted up the stairs, ignoring Jacob's calls as she ran to her room and closed the door, locking it tightly.

She fell to her knees in front of her bed and reached under it and pulled out the one box she hadn't opened in years. Out spilled photos, old Christmas ornaments, notes, and letters, one framed picture, and a locket.

She let her tears spill at seeing them, but rifled through them hurriedly. Maybe there was something about these relatives. 

She didn't find anything.

She stared blankly at the pile as the tears fell. What would she do without her dads? Without Phichit, and Yurio, and Otabek, and the Hosts and Ritsu? They had all changed her life somehow. All of them.

And what had her aunt and uncle done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They weren't there for her when they died. When she had to go through the process of being put up for adoption, or anything like that.

They didn't show her love like her dads or accept her weird quirks like the Hosts. To Elena, they never even existed before today.

She threw off the yellow dress she hadn't changed out of and pulled on jeans, a t-shirt, and her shoes, and hoodie, and the friendship bracelet she had made with Haruhi a few days ago, not sure where she would go.

She made the decision that anywhere was fine, as long at it wasn't here as she grabbed the locket and put it on. She needed to get out of the house.

She didn't look back as she slipped through the window. She didn't look back as she walked away from the house and passed the social workers car.

She just needed to clear her head.

 

 

 

Elena was lost. 

She had wandered around town for over an hour now, letting her feet take her as her mind was elsewhere.

It was getting late in the day and hadn't eaten since breakfast which was before the social worker came, but she wasn't hungry.

She just felt sad and frustrated.

She sat down in the park in front of the pond, pulling her knees up to her chest was she watched the ducks glide across the water, and the fish swim in circles.

And she stayed there, hardly moving as the day went by, doing her best to clear her head of all the thoughts clouding it.

What should she do?

 

 

By the time she thought about going home, it had begun to pour.

The rain fell heavily on her, but she didn't care very much. She felt that it matched her mood well.

She stood up after so long and started to walk back in the direction she thought her home to be.

That's when she realized she was lost.

Completely and totally lost. 

So she continued to wander around, ignoring the icy rain as she walked, her hood up as she watched the ground in front of her.

 

 

 

The Hosts and Ritsu Kasanoda had tried calling Elena multiple times already.

As far as they knew, practice wasn't canceled, even though Elena wasn't at school today. She didn't call or text to let them know anything.

They had all tried multiple times when Kyoya decided to just call her fathers directly.

The phone rang once, twice, three times before it was answered.

"Hello?" Victor pahnted into the receiver. "Kyoya? Is Elena there with you? Have you seen her? She won't answer her phone!"

"No, she isn't here. We have called hoping to find out where she was. Is something wrong, Mr. Nikiforov-Katsuki?"

"Yes," Victor replied sadly. Kyoya could see the rest of the Hosts and Ritsu watching him intently, as he was the first to get a reply. "She disappeared. " Victor groaned slightly in despair and his voice lowered. "A social worker came today and told her some news. Then she jumped out her window while we were talking to him in the kitchen. It's been hours and we haven't found her."

Kyoya's eyes widened and he looked worried, which caused the others to begin to worry. What had h been told?

"We will help you." He told the man on the phone, hoping they could find out where she had gone. " When did that happen? Do you have anything that can help us?"

It was silent for a moment. "Not really. She had dumped a lot of her old pictures from the box onto the floor, and the window was open. She didn't seem to take anything with her."

Kyoya nodded and stored the information in his mind for later. "I will contact you if we find anything."

"The same here. Thank you." And with those words, Victor hung up on the teenager, who then turned to his anxiously waiting friends and told them what happened.

They then began to worry.

"We have to find her!" Honey cried and he gripped onto Usa-chan tightly. Mori nodded next to him in agreement.

Tamaki looked out the glass doors, a determined look in his eye. All the joy and happiness that usually shone gone, as he clenched his jaw and fists. "Let's go. It's pouring outside, and she could get hurt."

Ritsu pulled out his phone and started dialing. "I'll call my men and let them know, see if they have seen her at all." He placed the phone to his ear, determined to find his friend.

Kyoya agreed. "We all have separate vehicles, except for Haruhi. We should all go and try to find her. She couldn't have gotten far on foot, and I don't think she took a bus. Check the parks, and different places. Call someone if you find her. We'll meet up when we find her. Haruhi, you can go with anyone here, we'll leave the choice to you."

Haruhi nodded in agreement and they all darted out the glass doors and to the vehicles, ignoring the pouring rain. 

Haruhi got into the first car she saw, which happened to be Tamaki. She wiped her eyes and glanced out the window as the car pulled away from the curb. The two were silent, and instead or making conversation, she watched out the window for someone that resembled her friend in the rainy city.

She nervously played with her bracelet- a small and simple one that she had made with Elena a few days ago. They both had one, and knowing that her friend could be hurt- physically or emotionally- hurt Haruhi. She wanted to find her as soon as possible.

"Are you alright, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, looking at her with soft eyes. 

"I'll be fine," Haruhi replied. "But we need to find Elena. I'm worried about her. Running away doesn't seem like something she would do."

Tamaki nodded in agreement. "I'm worried too." He gripped Haruhi's hand as both a comfort to her and himself.

And Haruhi didn't pull away. She knew he needed the comfort, and she needed it as well- even if she wouldn't admit to it.

 

 

The twins watched out the windows, for the girl they had come to care about.

Sure, she couldn't tell them apart like Haruhi did, but she didn't give up trying to differentiate them. And they both noticed her getting better at it. She had gotten them right a few times when she saw them separately in the halls and such, though Kaoru didn't know how she was getting so good at knowing it was him and not his brother, Hikaru had an idea.

Hikaru squeezed his brother's hand in comfort, neither of them saying a word, but knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

They needed to find their friend.

 

 

Honey and Mori were silent.

For once, Honey wasn't eating cake, even though there were some in the small fridge in front of him, and he gripped Usa-chan tighter than ever.

Mori's silence was different this time, and his eyes darted around to look at everything outside the window.

Just like the other's, the two cousin's were worried.

They both cared deeply for the missing girl.

 

 

 

 

Kyoya seemed calm on the outside, but inside, he was the same as all the others- worried.

He knew Elena felt nervous around him, and he knew it was because he had so much information on her, and most people probably would be wary around people who had information on other people.

But over time, he noticed the nervousness had faded some. It was still there, but she was a little more open to him. Willing to have a conversation with him, and help him, and him her.

And he wanted to make sure she knew that he was grateful for that, even if he didn't openly show it.

He typed on his computer and glanced out the window ever few seconds as he searched for her. He had asked one of the men in his father's police force to check security cameras in the area for any sign of her.

He heard his phone ring and immediately answered, not bothering to check to see who it was.

"Ootori speaking."

"Master Kyoya, we found a match with the picture of the girl you sent us. She was in the park on 23rd for a few hours, before she left, heading west."

Kyoya noted it but realized he was too far from there. But he knew who wasn't.

 

 

Ritsu pushed on the gas pedal, watching outside the window for anyone. 

He was worried. Elena was a good friend, she didn't fear him, she didn't treat him differently, she was his friend.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang. He didn't bother looking at the ID, just picked up immediately.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Kasanoda. Some men from my family's police force had checked some cameras and we think we've found Elena. She was at the park on 23rd, then left heading West. You're closer to there, so I need you to check there for us. Give me a call if you find her." Kyoya told him.

"Got it. Park on 23rd, then West." He didn't bother to say anything else, he just hung up, threw the phone on the seat next to him, and pushed harder on the gas pedal, just pushing the speed limit as he sped to the park.

 

It was nearly 10 minutes later until he caught sight of her.

And it hurt him.

She was walking alongside the road, her hood up, but not doing much good, as the rain had soaked through it. She was hugging herself and didn't seem to realize that the car pulling up next to her belonged to him.

He stopped and jumped out of the car, not caring if he got wet. "Elena!" He called.

She slowly turned to look at him, and it was hard to tell because of the rain, but she started to cry and practically jumped into his arms, burying her face into his jacket as she cried.

"Ritsu. I don't wanna leave. I don't wanna. I want to stay here. I don't want to go."

Ritsu didn't know what she was talking about, but he just pulled her into his car. As soon as she was sitting down, he sat in his seat and started the car and jerked the heater up as he continued to hug her tightly.

He stroked her hair lightly and soothed her. He didn't ask what was wrong, he didn't ask why she ran off, he just comforted her, like she had done for him before.

He pulled away after a minute and took off his jacket, putting it around her shoulders after she had pulled off the soaked sweater. They sat in comfortable silence as Ritsu pulled out while dialing Kyoya.

It rang twice before it was picked up.

"Ootori."

"I found her," Ritsu replied, his eyes darting to look at the girl next to him. She was leaning against the window and was watching the rain slide down it.

"Good. We all agreed to meet at the Hitachiin residence. It is closest to your location. The twins will meet you there."

"Okay." And he hung up.

The ride was silent, and he ended up holding her hand the entire time as she sat next to him curled up tightly, watching the rain. The weather seemed to match her mood well.

He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Elena certainly wasn't the type to just wander off without reason.

So what is the reason?

 

 

 

The two pulled up to the Hitachiin's a few minutes later, where just inside, they were greeted by the Host Club

And as soon as Elena saw them, she began to cry again.

And none of them knew why she was, but it hurt them.

A maid had brought towels and a change of clothes for her, and Haruhi led her to the bathroom and waited for her just outside, then led her back where the others were gathered. 

Elena sat between Ritsu and Haruhi, clutching a blanket tightly.

All of them being so nice to her, it made her sadder and more frustrated with her current situation.

She just wanted to stay here.

It was silent for a few moments as a maid brought them all warm drinks, then it was broken by a question from Tamaki.

"Elena, what happened?"

Tears pooled in her eyes again, and she couldn't look at any of them. Instead, she looked into her mug that was on the table and watched the steam rise, as she took a deep breath to explain.

"A social worker came this morning." She murmured. "He told me I have an aunt and uncle that are still alive, and they want me back. But I didn't even know they existed until today."

She could feel their eyes on her as they processed what she said.

"Don't go, Ele-chan!" Honey cried as he tackled her into a hug.

She hugged back and began to cry again. She could feel Haruhi and Ritsu rubbing her back in comfort as she did.

She stopped crying after a minute, and let go of Honey. "I don't want to go." She whispered. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Tamaki.

"Don't worry. You can't get rid of us that easily, you know. We're going to help you. We promise." Tamaki said, giving her a smile. A smile that she knew he meant what he said.

She looked around to see the others nodding in agreement to Tamaki's statement.

And she smiled, glad to have a good group of friends. One where they would do anything for each other.

One that was a family.

 

 

After another few minutes of comfortable silence, a butler led in two men. Victor and Yuuri.

Both of them immediately ran to their daughter and engulphed her into a tight hug as they both cried happy tears after being so worried.

Victor was talking quickly in Russian, and Yuuri was trying to tell her off for running off without telling them, but all of them knew his heart wasn't into it and he just wanted to keep hugging her forever.

Elena's friends had left the room, giving the family time to themselves, and they were very grateful for that.

"Please don't run away again, Elena." Victor murmured as he clung to her tightly. "I don't want to loose you."

"And I don't want to leave." She whispered.

The three sat in silence before they pulled away. Yuuri held her hand as they looked her in the eyes.

"We talked with the social worker some more," Yuuri told her. "He said that you don't have to choose yet, that you can spend a week or so with them, then decide. Would you like that?"

She was silent for a few moments before she responded. "I don't know. Maybe."

Victor patted their hands. "You don't need to make a decision now. Think about it. Either choice you make, we will support you."

Elena smiled and hugged him. "Spasibo, Papa."

 

 

The three of them left a few minutes later. Victor and Yuuri spent five minutes thanking them for helping to find her. Elena thanked them as well, especially Ritsu.

"Thanks for finding me, Ritsu. If you hadn't, I'd probably still be wandering around out there in the rain."

Ritsu scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It wasn't anything, really. Kyoya told me where you had been."

She smiled. "Well, still, thanks."

Ritsu gave her a small smile and turned to look behind her when she heard Yuuri call her name.

"See you later, Ritsu." She waved at him behind her as she followed her dads out the door.

Elena sat in the back seat of the car, leaning her head on the window as she watched the trees pass them. Yuuri and Victor watched her through the mirrors, both smiling, both not wanting her to go.

 

 

 

A few days had passed, and Elena hasn't stopped training the Host Club.

But they could tell that something else was on her mind, they didn't mention it, though. They knew what it might be. 

She had continued to give Hikaru one-on-one training, and he has been able to keep up with the rest.

And she hasn't said anything since that night.

But that changed one day during practice.

The group was having a casual practice, just having fun and racing, and playing games when the doors to the rink opened. Elena, who had been showing Ritsu how to couple skate, both backward and forwards, turned to see who it was.

She waved when she saw her dads come in, but frowned when she saw the social worker, Nakamura, follow them in.

She felt someone squeeze her hands and remembered she was still teaching Ritsu.

"You okay?" He asked, looking worried.

"The social work is here again." She murmured.

HE squeezed her hands again. "Don't worry. We're here for you."

She gave him a grateful smile before she let go and skated off the ice. She walked over to the doors where her dads and the social worker stood to see what was happening.

"Hello again, Elena." Nakamura greeted. Elena nodded, acknowledging him.

"Elena, there is someone you should meet. Come into the office." Yuuri told her.

She sighed and started to take off her skates. Once they were off, she followed them out the doors into the office.

Inside sat two people. She recognized them from the picture Nakamura had shown her.

It was her aunt and uncle.

"Elena, this is your aunt and uncle, Clara and Goerge Enrique." Nakamura introduced.

She studied them. Her aunt looked a lot like her mother, they could almost be twins if it wasn't for all the makeup she wore and the over the top expensive looking clothes.

Her uncle seemed normal, but he was silent and with a neutral face like Mori's, but unlike Mori, his eyes held no love or kindness.

"Oh, my dear child!" Her aunt Clara exclaimed over dramatically as she was pulled into a too-tight hug. Her aunt's perfectly manicured nails seemed to dig into her back.

"Um... hi." Elena murmured, wishing this strange lady would let her go.

"Oh, let me look at you," she said as she pulled away, keeping her hands on Elena's shoulders as she looked at her. Elena could see the distaste in her eyes and face, looking at the skates she gripped in her hands, the handmade bracelet on her wrist, her frizzing hair, the calluses on her hands, and the light and small scars she had on her arms and legs.

She was suddenly pulled into another hug. "Oh, my girl, have they been taking care of you? They mustn't be! You are much too skinny, and look at all those scars! My dear girl, come with me to New York. We have a wonderful penthouse apartment, we can put you in a great school, and you can have anything you could ever want! I promise we can give you anything!"

Elena didn't say anything. She still wanted this lady to let her go, and she didn't want a penthouse apartment, or the greatest school ever (even though she was in one right now), all she wanted was a close family, one that would love her.

She didn't feel like they could give her that. When she first met Victor and Yuuri at the orphanage, she could feel that they would love her. That they wanted her in their family.

She did not feel that with her. It all felt fake.

She managed to pull away and took a step back. "It's okay. They've been taking great care of me. I'm happy with both of my dads."

At the word 'dads' she frowned distastefully again. "Are you sure? Don't you want a woman to help you? They can't do everything. Come with me, we can be a family, don't you want to live with your blood relatives? I know so many girls your age who would love to be your friends."

"I'm happy here. I have a really good group of friends, they would do anything for each other." Elena looked up at her aunt and tried not to grimace at the 15 pounds of make-up on her face. She turned to look behind her, hoping to see her dads, but she had been left alone without them.

She turned to look back at her aunt. "Are you sure, dear? I mean, having two dads and no mom, it's not natural. Come live with us, and you can have a normal life. A mom and a dad, not two gay fags."

This made her angry. "My dads love me! They are the best thing to happen to me since before my parents died! And where were you? You never came! It's been over six years, now! And you come now? And when you do show up, you insult the two people who took me in and loved me! I don't want to go live with someone who does that!"

She spun on her heel and stomped to the door, ignoring the woman's angry look as she stormed away.

Outside the door, Victor and Yuuri were waiting for her, and they looked worried when they saw her storming out.

"How did it go?" Yuuri asked. He got his answer when Elena hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

"She called you guys gay fags." She said into his shirt. She didn't see it, but Victor and Yuuri were angry.

"I don't want to go with them. They insulted you. I can't go live with someone who did that."

Yuuri rubbed her back and bent his head down. "We'll take care of this, okay? Go back to the rink with your friends. They're waiting for you."

She nodded and let him go before making her way to the rink again. Inside, they were all waiting at the edge of the rink, talking in hushed voices

As soon as she came in, they went silent.

Elena stood in front of the door, gripping tightly to the laces of her skates. Suddenly she was engulfed into a hug, which surprised her.

"What happened Elena?" Tamaki asked as he hugged her.

He pulled away and she answered. "She called my dads gay fags." She said, gritting her teeth.

They were quiet for a few moments before Haruhi spoke up. "Sounds like you're staying here." she grinned.

Elena couldn't help but smile as the twins and Tamaki pulled her and Haruhi into a group hug that Honey joined in on as they chanted 'She's staying! She's staying!'

She couldn't help but laugh at her friend's antics.

And she knew this was where she belonged.

And she was happy.


	6. Chapter 6

Victor sorted through their things sitting in the attic. They needed to start to pull out their clothes for cooler weather, and it was up to Victor to find them and definitely not get distracted.

That wasn't going to happen this time.

He set down another box of junk, noticing one they haven't opened in years.

Written on the box in English, Japanese, and Russian, were the words, Memories.

It would be fine if he only looked in for a moment, right?

He made his decision and sat down in front of the box, opening up with a grin on his face.

Inside were thousands of pictures, two pairs of small skates, one for a toddler, one for someone older, a light blue baby blanket, and two small hand knitted blankets, on baby blue with white stripes, the other pink and purple, and bigger.

He smiled as he ran his fingers over the material. Otabek had made the blankets when he heard they wanted to adopt a child. It took some time to finish the adoption process and get them home, so when they finally could, the two were introduced to all of the skaters by hosting a big welcome to the family party, and Otabek had brought some blankets. They eventually ended up in the attic once the two grew too big for them, but Otabek made them a second one that was much bigger.

His smile never left as he pulled out one of the many pictures. 

This one had a picture of Elena squirting Yuri with a small water pistol while he was on the ice rink. He could remember this clearly. Yuri had told Yurio off for cursing in hearing range of the kids, and Elena, being the very outspoken child she was, threatened to get him wet if he didn't stop. He ended up shrugging off this threat, and the next time he did, she was ready. She had a small water pistol in her pocket, that not even he and Yuri knew about, and shot him with it many times saying 'That's a bad word! Don't say bad words!' Yurio proceeded to get his revenge by grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around in circles until she was dizzy and couldn't stand. Victor was happy Phichit took so many pictures.

Victor was laughing at the memory, attracting the attention of Yuri, who had been making a list of things they would need from the grocery store. At the sound of laughter coming from the attic, he already knew his husband had gotten distracted.

Yuri stepped into the attic, grinning at the sight he was met with. Victor was sitting cross-legged on the floor, laughing to himself, pictures spread around him. Yuri went up behind him, looking over his shoulder at what he was laughing at, but the picture made him grin.

It was a silly picture of the four of them, Elena was using two fingers to pull her lips apart and stick her tongue out and cross her eyes. Jacob, who was a year and a half at the time, was trying to mimic her. Victor had his usual big heart shaped smile on his face, doing a peace sign with two fingers. Yuri had a closed-eyed smile on his face, his arms wrapped around the two kids as he held them close to him for the picture.

He smiled and sat down next to Victor, picking up another one. He had forgotten what he was supposed to be doing, or why he had come up there in the first place. Now he was more focused on the pictures surrounding them, and in the box. It reminded him of when he was younger and he was cleaning his room, but then found something from many years ago and spent the rest of the time looking or playing with whatever it was.

"Look at this one," Victor told Yuri as he handed him a picture, and Yuri took it, and his grin grew wider.

The picture was of when they first brought the two children home. Elena was small for a ten-year-old and had been extremely protective of Jacob as soon as he was put into the orphanage. So when they were brought off the plane and introduced to their new home, they fell asleep on the floor where they had laid Jacob down with his toys. Elena had joined him and they played with the toys until the two fell asleep where they were. Makkachin had joined them and was curled up on Jacob's other side, where he gripped the dog's fur tightly in his tiny fist, Elena's finger in the other. Victor took the picture as soon as he saw it.

They went through the photos, reliving the memories. 

First meeting Yuri's mom, their new grandmother. She had squeezed the two so much and was very happy to have grandchildren (and she mentioned it very often). Elena was so happy to have a grandmother like her, the two getting along immediately.

When they first went ice skating. Jacob had been too small when they started teaching Elena when she turned eleven, so while she was out on the ice with Victor and Yurio, Yuri was on the side with Jacob. In the picture that Phichit took since he declared himself in charge of taking pictures because the two dads didn't take enough of them. In the picture, Elena was clinging to Victor's arm as he taught her how to position his feet and move forward. She kept telling them she was going to fall, in every language she knew, but she was giggling the entire time.

There was a picture of them leaving the orphanage. They couldn't stop the wide smile that crept onto their faces at the memory. They had only been planning on adopting one child, a baby, but they ended up with two. They were getting to know the children in the age group they wanted to adopt from, when they were met with Jacob being protectively cared for by Elena. Elena, who was nine at that time, protectively guarded the small boy she called her brother. And during the time they spent with Jacob, they got to know her better. And they knew that both of them were perfect for their family. They never regretted adopting both, as each of them had brought something new and exciting to their lives. The day Elena had found out she would be adopted along with her brother, she was ecstatic, and wouldn't stop bouncing around.

There were so many pictures in the box, and they loved looking through all of them.

There was one from when Jacob was learning how to walk and used Makaachin to balance himself. The dog was very patient with the boy and helped him until he fell back to the ground, giggling.

There was one of when they taught Jacob to skate. He had just turned four, and he got his own pair of skates and was holding onto both of his dads' hands as he slowly moved forward. Elena was in the background making a silly face to the camera.

Another where it was Elena's first day of school, a little more than a year after they adopted her. Her body was facing away from the camera, towards the school that had many kids milling about, and had turned back around to glare at the camera. She was not happy to have to go to school. Not at all.

There was a picture from a small party they went to a couple of years ago. Elena had been twelve at the time, and there weren't a lot of skaters with children, so she took pictures with Phichit, talked with Yurio and Otabek, and played games with them until it got very late. When the party had ended, they found her curled up, asleep, on one of the couches with Yurio and Otabek, who had also fallen asleep. Phichit had taken some pictures before he left. 

There were some from their trips to the beach in Hatsetsu. Elena was building a sand castle, and Jacob was trying to help. But at two years old, he wasn't much help. After several destroyed castles, they finally finished one, being taller than Jacob. The two were posed on either side of it, grinning and covered from head to toe with sand (something that Yuri knew they were going to be finding everywhere for the next week.)

There was a picture Elena had taken with her camera, catching the exact moment Jacob asked Victor where babies came from and Yuri was out. He ended up giving a rushed explanation about storks and magic, that Yuri then had to clear up later on.

They were laughing and crying, Victor holding Yuri close to him as they teared up from this picture.

They had adopted the two six months before. The picture had the two of them and Elena, Elena had the biggest grin on her face, while both Victor and Yuri seemed dumbfounded. The reason for that was because right before she took the picture, she surprised them by saying "I love you guys! You're the best dads ever!" The words had hit them so hard, they didn't even register that she was taking the picture. But they had a smile on their faces the entire day. That had been the first time she told them she loved them, and they cherished that memory always.

Yuri had his head resting on Victor's shoulder, happy tears pooled in their eyes. They were so lost in thought, they didn't hear when Elena had called for them. Nor did they hear when she climbed up the steps to the attic, which was where she found both of her dads, sitting on the floor with a pile of photographs lying on the floor in front of them, and one held in Victor's hand, both staring at it with silly grins on their faces.

"Dad? Papa?" She called, finally grabbing their attention as she kneeled behind them. 

They both turned to look behind them, surprised. They hadn't heard her come up. "Is something wrong?" Yuri asked, wiping the tears that had started to leak out away.

Elena shook her head. "No, I was just wondering what we were going to eat. Is everything okay?" she tilted her head slightly in confusion and worry. Why were her dads crying?

She was surprised when she was suddenly pulled into a tight hug by both of her dads, neither of them saying anything. And she didn't either. If her dads wanted a hug, they can have a hug. So she returned it, burying her face into Victor's shirt, and she could smell his cologne, the one she has come to know as his scent.

They didn't move for another few minutes, but she was content there. Her week had been stressful, especially after the fiasco with her 'Aunt and Uncle', which she was starting to have a difficult time seeing as actual relatives of hers. 

She was finally released, and she looked over her dads' faces. They seemed happy, they both had their genuine smiled on their faces, grinning from ear to ear. Their eyes were still a little wet, but they shone brightly.

She was still very confused.

Yuri patted her head like he used to do when she was younger. "We'll see when we go to the store. I'll finish making the list, then we can all go, how does that sound?"

"We don't need a list! Let's go right now!" Victor said in reply, Yuri simply raised a single eyebrow in reply. 

"If we don't have a list, we'll buy everything except for what we actually need. Then I'll have to go back."

Victor was about to argue back when Elena put a stop to it. "I'll go get ready, and help Jacob get ready, while you make the list. He's probably in his pajamas, knowing him." She grinned. 

They both smiled and nodded their reply, then watched as she stood and went back down, calling out for her younger brother. 

"She's all grown up Yuri," Victor said sadly.

"I know, Old Man." Yuri teased as he stood and left the same way Elena had just left. "You've said that a lot recently."

"Old Man!" Victor exclaimed, clutching at his shirt. "I'm not old!"

Yuri chuckled. "I need to finish the list. Can you put all those pictures away?"

Victor saluted mockingly. "Yes, sir!"

Yuri simply replied with a roll of his eyes as he descended the stairs, the silly grin on his face.

He loved his family, and wouldn't trade them for all the gold medals, or Pork cutlet bowls in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys!  
> I forgot to upload this chapter here. Oops!   
> This chapter is a lot shorter, yes. I do hope to upload soon!  
> You can also find this story on Wattpad, under the same name.  
> So, a few things about this chapter.  
> You learned a lot about Elena, and her life with Victor and Yuri and how that came to be, so I felt it would be a good place to end it there, even though it is much shorter than the others.  
> Another thing, is that I found this headcannon that Otabek knits! I had to include that, since I am a knitter myself. I had to include that.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Especially if you got through this! I would love to hear feedback from you guys!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know, I have no clue how foster systems or the adoption system works. This is all made up, for fictional purposes, and crazy shenanigans. If some information is wrong, my answer to it is this: Anime.
> 
> Thank you.

She sat between the two beds, staring at the pale faces in front of her.

They can't go. What would she do?

She gripped tightly to both of their hands, feeling them weakly squeeze hers.

"Stay strong, baby girl," Yuri told her, petting her hair with his free hand. 

Jacob was gripping tightly to her shirt, watching both of their dads struggle to breathe.

"Don't worry, kids. We'll always be with you. Keep skating, for us, yeah?" Victor breathed out, petting his son's hair softly.

Slowly the heart monitor slowed for the both of them, and they died holding hands with each other, and their two children.

Jacob wailed, crying for his dad's to come back. Elena held him tightly, tears falling from her eyes. 

They were gone. Gone forever.

Later, the two found themselves in an office, Jacob ignoring everything around him, and Elena trying not to burst into tears again.

What would happen next?

Child protective services entered the room a moment later, sitting across from them.

"They went over your dads's will, and it has been decided where you will be going. Jacob will be placed into Foster Care, while Elena will be sent to live with her blood relatives."

Jacob, nodded immeadiately as Elena protested. 

"No! I don't want to go with them! I won't!"

She was ignored as the two people she hated the most entered the room. 

Her aunt sauntered into the room, fake nails, make-up, dangly jewelry and all. "Oh, my sweet niece! You've been through so much! Come, let's go to America and you can start your life over! No more of this skating trash! I will teach you the famly buissnes!" 

Elena shook her head in protest. "No! Jacob, say something!"

At that moment, he was being led out of the room by a social worker. He paused and turned to look back at her. "This is all your fault, Elena. They're dead because of you. You aren't my sister anymore."

And she was forcibly dragged from the room by her aunt who was still talking, forced to watch as she and her brother were seperated, and she was ripped from her life.

 

 

 

 

Elena jerked up in her bed, face tearstained, and eyes bloodshot. 

It had been a dream. All of it. It was a dream.

But she had to make sure.

She slowly opened her door into the dark hallway.

Empty.

She crept down it, to the room next to hers, Russian letter stickers in different colors spelling out the name Jacob, different other stickers from movies and shows he liked scattered around it.

She opened the door a few inches and peeked inside. 

On the bed was a lump of blankets, a head of black hair peeking out of it. Jacob was still here and safe.

She closed the door with a small click and continued on her way.

Next was her dads.

The door was open to where she could see inside. Victor and Yuri lay curled up in a pile of blankets, tangled up in them and each other.

She smiled as she saw their chests rise and fall. They were alive. They weren't dead.

She wiped the tears left on her face as she turned back around and back to her room, and into her bed. 

It wasn't real. It was just a dream. And she hoped it always would be.

She turned on her phone, seeing it was five in the morning. She knew she should try and go back to sleep, but after that, she felt like she would never be able to, so she went down the stairs into the living room, curling up on the couch as she watched the time on her phone.

She needed someone to talk to, but who would be up at five in the morning?

Kyoya might, he would probaby be up doing some work or something like that. But he certainly wasn't the first person she would go to for emotions. If she needed something logical, then yes, but not this.

The twins might. They seem like they would spend all night on weekends playing video games.

Mori and Honey might be up early practicing Kendo or some other martial arts, but she didn't want to bother them.

Haruhi would be asleep, Tamaki might be too, and she doubted Ritsu would be up, and she didn't want to disturb anyone.

She scrolled through the messaging app Tamaki started a group in, noticing a few moments later that someone was online, and active.

Ritsu Kasanoda.

He was added to the group so they could discuss time changes for skating if they ever needed to. And he was using the app at that moment.

'Hey, Ritsu.'

'Hey, why are you up?'

'Nothing, really. You?'

'Are you sure about that?'

'No'

'Do you want to talk?'

'Yeah.'

He called her a moment later, and she didn't waste any time picking up.

"What happened?" He asked imediately.

"Nightmare." She murmmered, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

She debated for a moment weather to tell him or not, be decided to. "My 'aunt and Uncle' took me away from Jacob after my dads died."

And he listened as she told him about everything that happened in the dream, letting her take her time to say everything, and just listening.

As soon as she had finished telling him everything that had happened, and wiped away her tears, he spoke.

"That won't ever happen, ya hear? We won't ever let them take you away without a fight. You have us backing you up, and that won't change. We're here for you."

She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes again. "Thanks Bossanova." She laughed, hearing him grunt in annoyance at the nickname he had been given by memebers of the Host Club.

"Let's talk about something else, yeah?" 

The two spent much of that morning keeping each other company in the early hours of the morning, until they both had to get ready to meet at school, and she had to hang up before her dads found out she had been talking on the phone for over an hour.

She was dressed and ready to go by the time Victor and Yuri came down the stairs, still half asleeep and surprised at seeing her up so early.

"What are you doing up?" Yuri asked as he pulled out the carton of eggs from the fridge.

Elena looked up from the table where she was reading a book for a class, Makachin doing the same from where she lay on the ground under Elena's feet where she was getting a nice rub.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep." She shrugged, ignoring their worried looks.

"Are you okay?" Victor asked, squeezing her shoulder as he passsed behind her.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Neither of them believed her, but she was a teenager, and they both knew that she wouldn't tell them easily.

Yuri left the carton of eggs on the counter and took a seatbeside her, Victor on her other side.

"Are you sure?"

She slowly shook her head and leaned onto Yuri as he engulfed her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head softly.

Victor joined in, taking both his husband and daugher intoa tight embrace.

They didn't let her go as she quietly told them what she had dreamed of, burying her face into her dad's shoulder.

"Don't worry, printsessa. We won't leave you." Victor murmurred as he hugged them closer.

The three of them didn't move, Elena taking comfort from both of them being there, being able to hear and feel their strong heartbeats, and smell their cologne.

Finally, they pulled back. "We're here if you ever need us, okay? You can talk to us anytime."

"Except right now because I need to go to use the toilet." Victor declared as he made his way to the bathroom.

Both Yuri and Elena couldn't help but laugh as Yuri stood to make the breakfast for that morning.

Elena washed her face to get rid of all the tear tracks she had gotten before joining Yuri in the kitchen again and helping him with the breakfast.

Jacob came down a few minutes later with Victor who had just gotten him up, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Morning." He grumbled as he sat in his seat where his breakfast was laid out.

Yuri ruffled his hair as he sat down with his plate, grinning as the boy tiredly shoved eggs into his mouth.

Elena smiled softly as she pushed some eggs around on her plate, Victor and Yuri watching her worriedly.

They finished breakfast quickly, and Elena quickly gave both of her dads a hug and quick peck on the cheek, ruffled Jacob's hair, and left to school.

She walked silently to the school, greeting Haruhi with a small smile.

"Are you alright?" She asked, getting worried about her friend.

Elena nodded. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Haruhi paused for a moment before nodding, but was still worried about her.

She was quiet at school all day, which worried the twins, and they told the rest of the Host club. Ritsu seemed to be the only one who wasn't very worried and know what was wrong, which Kyoya seemed to know as soon as he walked through the doors with Elena that afternoon.

But Kyoya didn't mention it.

Elena seemed to return to normal when they arrived at the rink, watching her glide on the ice like she always did.

"Elena-chan!" Honey called as he stepped onto the ice and skated to the girl who had stopped upon hearing her name being called.

"Yeah, Honey-senpai?" She looked down at the small blond.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking up at her with large brown eyes.

She paused a moment before she answered. "I'm fine Honey-senpai." She gave him a smlie. "I jut have a lot on my mind."

Honey studied her face a moment longer before he nodded and slid back to Mori.

The lessons went as they normally did, Elena watching them skate and correcting them when needed.

Near the end of their training session, she was teaching Tamaki how to couple skate, something he was determined to learn but hasn't gotten the hang of yet.

She skated backwards, trying to skate in time with Tamaki, and he held onto her hands.

"Elena, are you really okay? You keep saying you are, but you seem... well, off." Tamaki said, looking directly at her face. "You're my friend and part of the Host Club now. We want to help."

Elena bit her lip as she and Tamaki switched places so he was now skating backwards. "It's okay, Tamaki. I just had a nightmare, but I'm fine now. I talked about it with my and Ritsu. It's just on my mind right now, but I'll be fine."

Tamaki studied her face like Honey had, before nodding as well. "Just promise you'll talk to us, okay? We worry sometimes."

Elena nodded at his words. "I promise, Tamaki."

 

 

The session ended on a happy note since none of them had to be home for another hour, they played a game for the rest of time, and in the end, they were all panting heavily and collapsed on the benches outside the rink.

They agreed to meet again tomorrow at the same time, and they went their separate ways.

She began running once she saw the turn that led into her neighborhood, a large smile on her face, an her messenger bag that held her school books and uniform bouncing against her leg as she ran. She slid around the corner, sprinting the last few feet and not noticing the unfamiliar car parked on the street in front of her house.

She saw the three people and tried to slow, but with the speed she was running at, ended up tripping and falling on top of one of them.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed as she straightened herself, finally realizing who this person was.

Mr. Nakamura, the social worker.

Her blood went cold. What was he doing here?

Then she noticed the two people standing behind him.

Clara and George Enrique. Her 'Aunt and Uncle'. 

As if she considered them family after what they did.

"Hello, Miss Nikiforov-Katsuki. I see you're doing well. Are your parents home?" Mr. Nakamura asked.

"those two will never be my darling Elena's parents!" Clara exclaimed, grabbing Elena's head and pulling her into a hug that consisted of pressing Elena's head against her chest.

It took a few moments to free herself, and when she did, she took a few steps back. "They should be home. Let me get them."

she walked up to the door, noting that the three of them followed a few steps behind her. She opened the door stepping inside and slipping off her shoes.

"I'm home!" She stepped in, seeing Yuri come in through the kitchen. 

"How was school?" He asked, taking her bag and setting it down on a chair. He was wearing an apron she and Jacob had decorated several years before for a father's day. It read 'World's Greatest Dad' in Japanese and Russian, and doodled painted all over it.

She grinned. "Great. We had a pop quiz in English class, aced it. By the way, we have guests." She walked past him to the kitchen as he greeted Mr. Nakamura and the two people Elena despised the most.

She grabbed a snack before heading upstairs to change and find the paper she needed to finish for History class, planning to use that to forget the people that were downstairs.

She didn't want them there. She didn't want them to be in her house. She wanted those two to go back to America.

She worked on the paper until she heard Yuri call her downstairs. Putting it away, she thought that they had left, her mood lifted.

Until she got to the bottom step and entered the kitchen.

The three people still sat at the table, Clara looking annoyed, her husband indifferent, Mr. Nakamura looked serious, and Yuri and Victor looked worried.

Which made her worried again. She didn't want this to happen again!

"Sit down, Elena." Victor said, and she sat down between him an Yuri, making her aunt frown.

"Elena," Mr. Nakamura began. "Since they highly disagreed that this environment was bad for you, they had a very long discussion with Child Services, insisting that you should be under their care. So, they decided to see exactly why they made that claim. So, tomorrow we will see how you live your life with them, the friends you've made, and how you interact with other people."

Elena frowned. "Why can't you just let me live my life here in peace?"

Clara reached over the table and tried to place a hand over Elena's, but the girl moved her hand before she could. She pursed her lips and spoke. "Because we want the best for you! We want to make sure your life is the best it could ever be, and-"

"But I'm happy here. I want to live with my dads here where I'm happy, and I have friends who care for me! And a giant family where a lot of them aren't even related to us! Just leave me alone!" She shot up out of her chair as she was speaking, then stormed out of the kitchen, stomped up the stairs and into her room where she promptly slammed the door, ignoring all the calls that followed her.

She collapsed onto her bed, letting the tears leave her eyes. She didn't move for several minutes until she heard the notifications going off on her phone, she picked it up, noting that the others were talking to each other on the group chat. She grinned, burying the bottom of her face into her pillow as she saw Tamaki's argument with the twins. She frowned again as she remembered what had just happened. 

'Hey guys.' She sent.

She got different replied ranging from 'Hey' to 'Ele-chan!' 

'What's up?' Tamaki asked.

'They're back.' was all she sent back.

They all seemed to know who she was talking about, and asked her what happened. So sh explained how they were there when she got home, to what she was told, and how she blew up.

They all offered words of encouragement, though they would have liked to do more. But according to Kyoya, there wasn't much they could do other than show them that they were good friends for Elena.

She wished they could make them go away. The Hosts could do something, but Kyoya said it would be best to let it be and see how it all plays out.

They all did their best to keep her mind off of it for the night since she didn't want to leave her room at all until the two menaces left her home. She ignored the fact that they would be back tomorrow morning.

It was late before they left and Elena decided to leave her room after Tamaki had started a Skype call with all of them. Victor and Yuri sat at the kitchen table, mugs of tea in their hands and worried looks on their faces.

Elena got herself some dinner and sat down next to them. All was silent for a few minutes as she just ate, her two dads occasionally sipping their tea as she did. Soon, Victor couldn't take the silence, and broke it with a few words.

"Are you okay, Printessa?" He asked, looking at her with soft eyes.

She placed her chopsticks down, not looking up at them. "No." She muttered in reply. "Why can't they just leave me alone? They already ruined things when I had first met them."

They both looked at her with sad eyes, wishing they could do something, but they couldn't. There wasn't anything they could do other than make things go as they usually did the next day. Show them that they were a family, and they could be trusted with Elena's care.

But other than that, it was left to the people in charge. The people that would decided weather Elena stays or goes.

They had no control.

Yuri pulled his daughter into a tight hug, and she buried her face into his shirt, taking a fistful of it as she began to cry. Victor moved seats and sat next to her, pulling her and his husband into the hug, and soon they were in the same position as they had been that morning.

And they stayed there, taking comfort in knowing they would all be there for each other.

 

 

The next morning, Elena woke up dreading the day.

Apparently, Mr. Nakamura had gotten in contact with Mr. Suoh, Tamaki's dad, and gotten himself, and Clara and George, visitors passes to see what her school was like, and to meet her friends.

She loved her friends, and she knew they were good people, but she also dreaded them meeting her friends, because she knew how narrow minded her Aunt and Uncle seemed to be.

They might judge Haruhi for wearing the boys uniform.

Judge the twins for their brotherly love act that seems to be on all the time sometimes.

Judge Honey for not acting his age.

Judge Ritsu because of his mean face.

Heck, they may even find a reason to judge Mori, Kyoya, and Tamaki.

She just wanted to bury herself in her covers and disappear all day. Or make them go away.

Maybe she could get Nekozowa to cast a curse on them that would make them disappear back to America and forget about her. That would be nice.

Someone knocked at her door, and it opened a moment later, Yuri standing there.

"Elena, you need to get up or you'll be late." She peeked her head over the covers, still wanting to disappear. Yuri stood at the door, wearing his apron as he looked at her sadly.

"I'm sorry, Lena, but there's nothing we can do. But I'm sure you can power through it. You're strong. We know better than anyone that everything is good here. We just need to show them. But you can't do that from bed. Come on, they'll be here soon."

she groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes as Yuri gave her a soft smile and left, closing the door behind him as he went to get Jacob up.

She pulled on her uniform and got ready, doing everything she normally did. Brush her hair, her teeth, pack her bag, double check her homework and pack that, making sure she has battery, then going down the stairs for breakfast, shoes in hand.

At the table in the kitchen, Yuri was making breakfast as he usually did, and Jacob had tied a bandanna around his and Victor's head that morning, probably for no reason at all. And sitting at the table talking with her Papa, were the two menaces, and Mr. Nakamura.

She didn't mind him as much, he was only doing his job, and he let her make decisions whenever she could. He was patient, and was the one in charge of her while Victor and Yuri adopted her.

She just wished he didn't have to bring those two.

"Good morning, my dear Niece!" Clara exclaimed, opening her arms as if expecting Elena to rush into them for a hug. 

Instead she greeted them in the traditional Japanese way, with a small bow, and taking her seat next to Victor, immediately asking him if there was anything interesting in the newspaper.

"Nothing really." Victor replied, scanning through it. "There isn't much going on. I suppose that's a good thing."

She nodded as Jacob came down the stairs dressed in his uniform, rubbing his eyes sleepily. 

He sat next to Elena, barely glancing at the three other people. "Mornin' Papa." He mumbled, placing his head on Victor's shoulder.

Victor messed up the boys head. "Did you go to sleep late?" the small boy nodded. "We told you to go to sleep, but you didn't listen." He shook his head again, finally taking his seat.

Clara had her lips pursed, looking annoyed about something.

Yuri set out breakfast, having prepared enough for the other people there as well. Elena said thanks with her family, Jacob barely saying it loud enough to be heard, and they all began to eat. 

Clara looked judgingly at the rice on her plate. "Rice for breakfast? Are you all insane?" George didn't seem to care, he just began to eat his food without seeming to know what it was.

"Everyone in Japan usually has rice with their breakfast." Yuri replied before putting some in his mouth.

She looked disdainfully at it, before grudgingly eating it.

Elena glanced the clock a few minutes later, her eyes widening. "I need to go or I'll be late." She told her dads who nodded.

She stood up, finishing the last of her food before running to the door, Mr. Nakamura following with Clara and George.

"We will be coming with you, if you don't mind, Elena." he said.

She shouldered her bag and slipped on her shoes and she watched his face, finally nodding. "Alright, but keep up." She said opening the door. 

"Bye Dad! Bye, Papa! I'll see you at the rink!"

"Be safe!" The two called back, and she could hear a slightly muffled bye from Jacob who more than likely had food in his mouth.

She opened the door, darting down the steps, three people following behind her.

Apparently George had some work to do, so he would meet up with them later, so she would only be tagged along by Mr. Nakamura and Clara.

She jogged slightly, the two people behind her just barely managing to keep up with her as she ran to meet Haruhi.

She saw her at the end of the street she had just turned on, immediately calling out. 

"Haruhi!" The girl dressed in the boy uniform turned and waved, a large smile plastered on her face and she stopped and waited for her friend to catch up.

She did less than a minute later, catching her in a hug. The two giggled as Elena pulled away, waiting for Mr. Nakamura and Clara to catch up to them.

Clara was out of breath. "How... do you do that?" She gasped out.

Mr. Nakamura seemed to be better, but not by much.

"Practice." Was all she replied before she introduced them to Haruhi. "This is Haruhi. Haruhi, Mr. Nakamura, and Clara Enrique, my aunt."

Haruhi politely bowed, her usual smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Clara simply pursed her lips and nodded, while Mr. Nakamura greeted her in return. "It's good to meet Elena's friends. Please, don't let us stop you from getting to school."

The two girls nodded, and they went at a steady pace in the direction of Ouran.

After they began to walk, they were stopped again, this time by Ranka calling for Haruhi from down the street. 

"Haruhi, dear! You forgot one of your books!" He called, running up to them, today wearing a ligt pink summer dress, and pink heels as well, his hair pulled up into a low pony tail.

Haruhi took the book. "Thanks, dad."

"Dad? This is your father?" Clara seemed disgusted at the fact Haruhi's dad was wearing female clothing.

"Yes, I'm her father. May I ask who the two of you are?" Ranka asked casually, noticing Elena. "Oh! Elena, it's so good to see you again. I hope your dads are doing well, we should get together for tea again soon, that would be delightful. Anyway, back to the important subject, who are the two of you?"

"I am Takara Nakamura, with child protection services. This is Elena's blood relative, who wishes for Elena to be under her custody. At the moment, we are seeing how she was raised, who her friends are, and how she is in school, and weather she is in good care. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, that makes sense. Well, Haruhi, Elena, I need to go now, I'll see you all soon!" He waved as he turned to walk back to his apartment, the four of them just watching him go.

Elena watched Clara's reaction to Ranka. She didn't seem to like him, almost like she wanted to run in the opposite direction and put as much distance between them as possible.

Maybe she could scare her off anyway.

The walk there was silent, both the adults eventually finding out Haruhi was actually a girl (which her aunt didn't seem to like) but they were told to keep quiet about it, Haruhi telling them that, mainly because she knew the Hosts would find out and make a big deal of it, Elena, because she made them a promise.

Ritsu greeted them at the gate as he usually did, her aunt looking about ready to run when she saw him, and she didn't seem to change when she saw Elena hug him.

"I have a quiz today," Elena was telling him as they walked through the courtyard. "I hope I don't blow it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Ritsu told her, looking behind him slightly at the two adults following them. 

"They're going to go to Mr. Suoh's office, then meet the Hosts after classes end. I'm thinking of getting Nekozowa-senpai to help me out."

"What do you want him to do?" Ritsu asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe he could curse her so bad, she decides Japan is cursed and leaves without me. Or maybe some spell that changes her mind, or a voodoo doll. I dunno. " She shrugged.

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. The two were following a map to Mr. Suoh's office, as the students made their way to class.

"Meet you at lunch?" She asked her friend.

He nodded. "I'll go with you to the Black Magic club then, if you're still willing to try that."

"I'm willing to do anything to get rid of her." She grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter 7!
> 
> Sorry about this one. I've had this planned for a while.
> 
> I'm not entirely sorry. The beginning I had written after reading a depressing one shot. I put my feelings into this.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Adios!
> 
> ~Izzy


	8. Chapter 8

The day went by more smoothly than Elena had hoped.

There were no random interruptions from her aunt, no calls to the principal's office, and they seemed to leave her alone at lunch, which was when she decided to pay the Black Magic club a little visit.

She made her way down there with Ritsu, people still keeping their distance, and wondering why Elena wasn't dead yet. (some rumors had gone around saying that he was only friends with her because her parents secretly run the biggest Yakuza clan in Japan and the Kasanoda's were working under them).

The door leading to the club room was dark, giving off an eerie feeling. Elena pushed back her fear, remembering why she had come here in the first place, and knocked. The knock seeming o echo all over the hall.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and she could feel Ristu tense up next to her. But her anger at Clara kept her there as she ignored the fear.

Through the crack in the door, Elena could see a very pale face mostly covered by a black hooded cape, and a cat hand puppet.

Umehito Nekoawa and his hand puppet Beelzenef.

"Hello, and welcome to the Black Magic club." The door opened wider as he let them in. "Please come in, all are welcomed here. Hello, Mr. Kasanoda." He bowed his head. "Miss Nikiforov-Katsuki. A pleasure to finally meet you. What brings you both to the Black Magic club?"

After they entered the dark room that was dimly lit with candles, Nekozawa closed the door, making it even darker.

Ristu seemed to get even more nervous, ignoring all the others in the room. Elena ignored them as well, focusing on the cloaked man in front of her. "Nekozawa-senpai, I need some help."

He nodded, leading them to black chairs, the two outsiders sitting on one of the bigger ones, Nekozawa sitting on the one across from them. 

Elena took a deep breath, relaxing her nerves, and explained her stiuation. Telling him about the terrible aunt that wants her to go live with her, wanting to stay with her dads, and how she wanted them to go away. "Is there some sort of curse or something that would help get them to go away?" She asked at last, Ristu comforting her by holding her hand that sat between them.

He seemed the think for several moments. "Hm... I do believe there is something we can do. But without their blood, or hair, or something they treasure, it would be very difficult. I suppose something we could do would involve their handwriting, or we could write their name on the Beelzenef." He held up a wooden version of the puppet he had on his hand.

"What can I do with that Beelzenef?" Elena asked, leaning foreward slightly. 

"Almost anything. But you can't change their minds, they appear to be too determined. But you can give them a terrible day."

Elena bit her lip as she thought. "What can you do with their handwriting?"

"It is difficult to change minds, that requires something more powerful. But, what we can do is give them a nudge in the right direction." Nekozawa grinned from underneath his cloak hood, sending chills down their spines.

Elena dug in her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. "She gave this to me before I left to class. She wrote her phone number, and a few other things. Will this work?" She asked, handing it to him.

He took the paper, nodding once. "Perfect." He stood, heading over to a table, where he began to do... whatever it was that he was doing. He chanted a few words, waved Beelzenef around, chanted, and did several other things. The two sitting on the couch looked at each other in confusion, before turning their attention back to the teen.

He came back a few moments later. "Handwriting reveals a lot about a person, with the right spells, you can do a lot." He grinned, handing her the paper again. Nothing changed.

He began to lead the two to the black doors they came in from. "I'll let you have this first one free. I don't like families being separated for any reason. But be careful Elena, and good luck. I hope to keep seeing you here at Ouran." He opened the door for them.

"Thank you, Nekozawa-senpai. You're very nice." He grinned from under his hood, wishing them both a good day and closed the door.

The two let out a sigh of relief. Nekozawa was nice, but still creepy. Elena blushed when she realized that Ritsu hadn't let go of her hand. But she didn't mind too much.

Ritsu began to blush too but didn't let go. He scratched the back of his head with his other hand. "Crazy, right? You think it'll work?"

She clenched the paper in her hand. "It better."

He nodded as they began to walk to the cafeteria. "We aren't telling Suoh." It would have been a question, if not for the way he said it in a statement.

She nodded. "Haruhi told me he'd go ballistic. We'd better not."

The two didn't let go of each other's hand until they reached the cafeteria, where Elena was glomped by Tamaki, the twins, and Honey, needing both hands to push them off.

They didn't think the others noticed, but a few did. 

Those few being Kyoya, Haruhi, and Mori, who hadn't glomped the girl, and Honey, who smiled, all of them seem to know something the two didn't.

 

 

Elena dreaded the end of the day. 

She was usually very excited for it, and the clock used to tick so slowly. 

Now, it was going too fast.

The bell rang, Elena grimacing as she knew what was going to happen. She walked out of the class with the twins and Haruhi, meeting Ritsu in the hall as they made their way to the Host Club.

She was meeting there with the other Hosts where it was agreed that the two adults would meet all of her friends. Most of which happen to be in a Host Club.

She dreaded when they would be coming through that door.

Sooner than she would have liked, the doors opened, Mr. Nakamura and Clara stepping in, Clara eyeing everything with a sharp eye.

"Hello, Elena." Mr. Nakamura greeted. "How was your day?"

"Fine." She replied simply before leading the two to the couches where her friends sat. "Let me introduce you to my friends. You already know Haruhi." The girl gave a small wave in greeting. 

"This is Ritsu Kasanoda." He nodded his head, and she noticed her aunt warily eye him and keep her distance.

"Tamaki Suoh." In his usual Tamaki manner, he handed Elena's aunt a rose, who took it with a raised eyebrow.

"Kyoya Ootori." He gave a normal greeting, and knowing that she was from America, extended his hand to shake hers. She seemed to slightly approve of him.

"Mitskuni Haninozuka, but everyone calls him Honey." Honey gave them a wide smile as he greeted them.

"Honey's cousin, Takashi Morinozuka. But we call him Mori." He nodded in both agreement to her words, and in greeting.

"And the twins,-" She was cut off.

"Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin." The twins finished simultaneously.

He aunt studied them all before turning to Mr. Nakamura. "Well?"

"I believe she has a fine group of friends. I see no problems here." The man gave Elena a soft smile, and she returned it.

Her aunt pursed her lips into a tight line. "Alright. And what's this club I heard about?"

Tamaki took charge. "Yes! We are Ouran Academy's Host Club! This is where the school's handsomest boys, with too much time on their hands, entertain girls, who also have too much time on their hands. I am the club president. Kyoya is vice president."

"The actual brains behind everything." The twins muttered, not loud enough for their President to hear.

"I'm not sure I like this club too much." He aunt said, sending Tamaki to his dark and depressing corner. "What on earth are you doing in a club like this?"

Elena scratched the back of her head and tried to explain. "Well, Tamaki asked me to teach them how to figure skate, and I kind of just became part of the club."

"Then that must explain why she's wearing the boy's uniform." Her aunt muttered as she looked to Haruhi.

Elena pretended she didn't hear. "They're really cool. Tamaki just likes girls to feel special and good. Haruhi told me that's why he started the club."

Her aunt hummed before turning to Ritsu. "Is he also part of this club? I would think he would scare everyone away with that scowl he always has."

"It's just my face, ma'am," Ritsu explained. "And no, I'm not part of the club."

She didn't seem to believe his first statement. "Alright. So you hang out here after classes?"

Elena shook her head. "Not usually. Sometimes I will, but I'm usually at the rink practicing, and they meet me there after club hours."

"Then I believe now is a good time for us to take our leave." Mr. Nakamura said. "We will see you all at the rink." He nodded to all of them, leaving with Clara, and the doors shutting much too loudly for Elena.

She collapsed on the couch, letting out a relieved sigh. She has some time before she has to confront them again. That's good.

"You doin' all right?" Ritsu asked from his seat next to her.

She replied with a nod. "Yeah. That actually went better than I thought it would have."

Honey sat next to her. "Don't worry! I'm sure everything will turn out okay! There are only a few hours left, isn't there?"

She nodded, her stomach churning at the thoughts of what could happen in these next few hours. "Yeah. Thanks for reminding me, Honey-senpai."

He gave her a grin in response.

She spent a few minutes there with the Host Club, Ritsu having other things to get to, and spent some time talking with the guests, some who she's become fairly good friends with.

Then, she went to the rink.

There she tied on her skates and stepped onto the ice, something she was familiar with.

And that was where Mr. Nakamura and Clara found her, skating and practicing jumps with Victor on the sides giving her pointers on how to improve. 

"I am starting to think she's doing well here," Clara said as she watched Elena nail a jump, getting an applause from her dad. "Even if she has gay dads."

"Everything seems to be in order. She's healthy, happy, and doing well. You were worried for nothing, Mrs. Enrique."

She nodded absentmindedly, watching her try another jump, but falling onto the ice, only to get back up a moment later, dust herself off, and try again.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this was where her niece belonged all along.

 

 

Elena jumped again, landing on the ice. 

"Good work!" Victor told her from the sides. "Keep practicing, let me get your dad!"

She gave him a thumbs up as he turned and left, and she started to work on the jumps again. 

She managed to do a few more jumps in before the doors burst open in the middle of jumps.

"Elena!" Several voices cried, distracting her. It was the Host Club, looking ready and excited for their next lesson. But the moment of distraction was long enough.

She landed on the ice wrong, falling to the ground and hitting her head. She closed her eyes as the pain hit her.

It hurt.

 

 

They watched in almost slow motion as their friend hit the ice and fell to the ground, sliding a few feet before stopping, not moving.

"Elena!" They exclaimed, rushing towards her. 

She didn't move as they reached her, Tamaki, Mori, and Ritsu leaned down next to her.

"She's still breathing," Mori stated when he saw her chest rise and fall.

"We should get her off of the ice and call her fathers," Kyoya stated as he adjusted his glasses.

Ritsu immediately took the initiative and slid his arms under her back and behind her knees, carefully lifting her up.

With help from the others, they slowly got her onto a bench, laying her down gently as Kyoya looked for any noticeable injuries.

"Elena!" Clara exclaimed, rushing towards her niece. "Oh, is she okay?" She asked, bending over the girl in front of Kyoya.

"I am sure she will be fine." The black haired teen told the woman.

Victor and Yuri rushed in, immediately going to their daughter.

"What happened?" Yuri asked them, Victor taking over in checking her for injuries.

"She landed wrong on a jump," Tamaki explained. "I think we might have distracted her."

"Is Ele-chan going to be okay?" Honey asked, eyes tearing up slightly.

Yuri gave him a small smile. "I'm sure she'll be just fine. This isn't her first injury."

It was a few minutes later that she slowly woke up, eyes squinting against the fluorescent lights above her, but then blocked by a shadow of someone's head. Victor's. "Papa?" she groaned.

Victor grinned. "Hello, Printessa. How do you feel?"

"Like I was run over by a truck on an icy bridge." She groaned. 

Victor smiled. "Well, close enough I suppose. Can you stand?" 

Elena slowly sat up, seeing both her dads, the Host Club, Ritsu Kasanoda, Mr. Nakamura and Clara standing only a few feet away.

She dizzily got to her feet but fell almost immediately after, Victor catching her before she hit the ground again.

"My ankle hurts." She told him as he pulled off her skate to inspect it. It was turning purple and blue and looked very swollen. 

"Can you move it?" He asked, and frowned when she shook her head. "You might have fractured it."

"My wrist hurts too." She mumbled, Victor, beginning to look at it too, noticing it has begun to turn purple.

"Yuri," Victor addressed his husband. "We may have to take her to the hospital." Yuri just nodded.

"The hospital!" Her aunt shrieked, making Elena and almost everyone in the hospital flinch. "This is obviously too dangerous! That's it! I've had enough! You are coming back with me! Living here is too dangerous!"

"But-" Her protests were cut off by her aunt's rant.

"No buts! We'll take you to the hospital, then pack up to move to America!" She said with finality.

"I don't believe this is the best place to be discussing this. Let's take care of Elena first, then we can talk more, alright?" Mr. Nakamura told the woman, keeping his eyes on her face until she agreed to it.

"I'll pull the car to the front," Yuri told Victor before turning to Elena's friends. "It would be best for you guys to go home for now. I'm sure Elena will tell you everything that happened, alright?" At seeing them all nod, he led them out after they said goodbye to Elena, Ritsu seemed to linger the longest, both the dads noticing and sharing a knowing smile.

Victor carefully lifted Elena onto his back carrying her out the doors where Yuri waited with the car.

"Papa?" She whispered softly, her head resting on his shoulder.

Victor hummed in response, and Elena could feel the vibrations from his back.

"I don't want to leave you guys. I really don't." She buried her face in his shirt, the last part muffled slightly.

"I don't want you to go, either, baby. I really don't."

 

 

It was several hours later. Kyoya had sent them to one of his family's hospital, ensuring they would get the best care possible.

she was sitting on the hospital bed as a nurse put a cast on her ankle and wrist, and she could hear the argument that was happening just outside of the curtain separating her from the other people that came with her.

She didn't notice the tears until the nurse mentioned it. 

"Are you okay?" She asked, handing the girl a tissue. 

She shook her head. "No. I want to stay here. With my dads. My blood aunt wants to take me back with her to America. But I want to sty here." She wiped her eyes with the tissue she was given.

The nurse smiled at her as she finished the cast on her ankle and started on her wrist. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine in the end. You love your dads, and I'm sure they love you too. They won't let you go without a fight." She gave her a big smile, finishing the cast and placing a black boot over it. "Okay, we're all done here. I'll be back, and I wish you the best of luck, okay?" Elena smiled and nodded, appreciating the encouragement. 

It was several minutes later before someone came back inside. She looked up at hearing the curtain rustle, seeing Mr. Nakamura come inside, making sure to close the curtain behind him.

The man sighed and took a seat on a chair next to her bed. "How do you feel?" He asked her.

"Fine." She replied, looking at the floor.

"Well, because your aunt is still very set on having you live with her, and I know you really want to stay here with your dads." Elena nodded as she agreed with his words. "And part of this is strongly your choice, but we do want to make this as fair as possible. So," Elena tensed, still not looking up at him. "I talked to my boss, and we came to this agreement. For a certain amount of time, possibly a week, to a month at most, get to know them better, then you can make your decision. How does that sound?"

She was silent. It won't be more than a month, right? "I guess." She mumbled, still not sure about the whole thing.

He stood up. "You don't have to decide know, I'll talk to you soon. For today, you'll go back home, and we'll talk tomorrow after school, alright?" He took his leave after he saw her nod.

Victor and Yuri came in a few moments later. "Hey, sweetheart. " Yuri greeted. "How do you feel?"

She shrugged, the two of them sitting on either side of her. Yuri placed his arm around her, and she instinctively leaned into him.

They left a while later after they got instructions from the doctor, Elena leaning into one of her dads the entire time, and leaning against he window and watching the scenery pass by as they drove.

Both of the dads worried for their daughter.

 

 

It was late when they finally arrived back at the house. 

Yurio and Otabek were watching Jacob, the two of them curled up on the couch together, Jacob coloring on the floor as a movie was playing.

They looked up when they heard the door open, Jacob immediately darting up and running up to them.

"Dad! Papa! Lena!" He yelled, hugging them all. He looked up at Elena with a sad look. "What happened Lena?"

She just smiled and ruffled his hair with her good hand. "It's okay. I just had a little accident while skating. But I'll be fine."

That seemed to pacify him as he went to grab his coloring book to show his dads what he had done.

Elena sat on the couch next to Yurio and Otabek, one who had some knitting sitting on their lap.

"How'd it go? Katsudon was really worried when he called on the phone." Yurio said.

"Fine," she replied, pulling out her phone and noticing all the messaged she had.

she replied as quickly as she could with one hand, annoyed with Tamaki when he wouldn't stop sending messages.

She explained what she was told by Mr. Nakamura, not the most excited about the upcoming days.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen.

 

 

She went to the Host Club the next day since she wouldn't be able to skate, she stayed the entire time, going from Host to Host, and enjoying the company of them and the other guests.

She got asked multiple times what had happened, but she would always jokingly tell them that it was a secret.

Then after the club hours, they met with Ritsu in the courtyard, where Tamaki revealed that he had a day out planned. Kyoya adding that it didn't involve a lot of walking as to not aggravate her ankle.

He ended up taking them to a park, playing little games that didn't need a lot of walking or running, and just hanging out together.

She was happy just hanging out with her friends, being able to forget the hecticness of her life.

Until she came home.

Sitting at the kitchen table was Mr. Nakamura, waiting for her with her dads.

"Hello again, Elena." He greeted, nodding his head.

"Hello." She greeted back, grabbing a cookie from a plate Yuri had set out, taking the apple he had handed her after seeing the look he had.

Mr. Nakamura smiled at seeing the interaction but became serious again a moment later. "Well, Elena? Do we have an answer?"

She swallowed the bite of the cookie she had taken. "I'll give them a chance. If I don't, they probably won't leave me alone."

He nodded. "Alright. While your aunt wanted you to stay with her for a year, it has been agreed that a month will be enough time. You will have direct contact with your family and friends here, and if needed, we will bring you back early if you so wish. IS this okay with you?"

She nodded, looking down at the table.

Mr. Nakamura stood up. "I'll take my leave then. I will be taking you there in a week. I'll see you then."

Elena stared at the table, forgetting the cookie she had been eating, and she could feel Yuri rubbing her back in comfort.

"It's okay. You didn't hurt us, you know that, right? We'll love you no matter what choice you made."

She nodded numbly.

Is she going to regret this choice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The next chapter!
> 
> I actually don't have much to say this time...
> 
> But I do want to thank you all for reading! I don't have a lot of readers on the four websites I posted this story on, (one of them seems to hate me), but I love every single one of you, and love to read your comments!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Adios amigos!
> 
> ~Izzy


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Okay, so important.
> 
> Russian will be in Underlined italics.
> 
> Japanese will be in Bold
> 
> And English will be Normal.
> 
> And will be until Elena goes back to Japan. 
> 
> Thank you, and enjoy!
> 
> And! I have never attended a public high school, and have not been in public or private school since second grade. I have no idea what it's like, since my desk, is my bed/ bedroom floor/kitchen table any flat surface in my home. Please feel free to correct me on public schools. I am doing this all through books, fanfictions, movies, and what I have heard people say.

The time she had left in Japan and her family seemed to fly by.

Apparently, they had decided a month should be more than enough time, even though her aunt wanted longer.

The Hosts were a pretty surprised when she told them but seemed to support her either way. She had talked to her dads, and they agreed that they would help the Hosts keep the practices going until she got back.

Ritsu seemed to take it the hardest. Elena was one of the only people in the school who wasn't scared stiff of him, and that he could actually call a friend. Knowing this made it harder for her to leave.

Her last few days in Japan, her friends took her everywhere, doing their best to keep her smiling. The rest of the time she was with her dads and brother.

She stood in the airport with all of them, and it ended with a tearful goodbye. Victor and Yuri didn't want to let their little girl go, Jacob was a little better after a promise to call him every night. Her friends were different, as the Hosts hugged her goodbye, and promised to keep them updated on everything that happened while she was in America. The twins sneakily told her that their mother was going to New York soon, and they will tag along with her. Tamaki hugged her tightly, reminding her that she was part of their family now.

Her heart clenched as she said goodbye to the redheaded Kasanoda. He looked sadder than she had ever seen him and gave her a hug tighter than Tamaki's were, and seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end whispered, " **You'll always be my best friend.** "

Her eyes watered as she started through security, giving them all one last wave before she couldn't see them anymore.

Her chest hurt, and it was difficult to breathe. That had been everything. It had been her family, her life. Her dads and the rink, Ouran and the Host Club, Ritsu, teaching them how to skate, everything.

And she has to leave it all in Japan for the entire month.

She leaned her head against the window of the plane, her aunt and uncle sitting in the seats next to her as she watched the ground get farther and farther away. She could soon see Ouran, her home, and the ice rink, all getting farther away. 

She hated it.

"You're going to love New York, we have a penthouse, and you'll have your own room that we had decorated, and we enrolled you in one of the best schools there. Oh, and..." She tuned her aunt out as she put on her headphones, playing the playlist her friends had put together for her, all of them picking some of the songs.

And she smiled softly, each song bringing memories.

 

 

 

The plane landed several hours later, Elena not having the energy to do anything but stare at the clouds, sleep, or listen to music.

She kept them on as they got off, weaving through the crowd of people, getting their luggage, and getting outside.

It was almost midnight when they landed in the Big Apple, but morning when they left Japan, the 13 hour time difference annoyed her.

"Come on, we'll get to the house and let you settle in so you can sleep. The car's here, come on." Her aunt chirped, leading her to a car parked on the side of the road.

The ride there was filled with her aunt's endless chatter, and she was glad when they arrived.

"We're here!" Clara said, opening the door dramatically and leading the teen inside.

She looked around at the well-decorated room.

"Let's take you to your room! You're going to love it!" Clara continued, leading her up the stairs and into one of the rooms.

The door had her name painted on it in swirly calligraphy, and the room itself was decorated to look what she supposed was an average American teenage girl's room.

The walls were a light purple, and there was a white four poster bed in the center of the back wall with darker purple covers, The rest of the furniture, including the desk and bookshelf, was also white.

It was nice, but not how she would have decorated her room.

"Well, we'll let you get settled in. See you in the morning, alright? And you start school in three days, so don't worry." Her aunt chirped before closing the door and leaving Elena alone in the purple room.

She sighed and placed her bags on the bed before sitting down on it and covering her face with her hands. All this change was stressing her out. She didn't know what to do.

She decided she should let everyone know she arrived, hoping to calm her nerves- at least a little bit.

She pulled out her laptop, placing it on the desk before pulling out her phone and calling her dads.

It rang for a few moments before it was picked up.

" _Hello,_   _Printessa!_ " Victor said into the phone, speaking in Russian. " _How was your flight?_ " 

" _Fine, Papa_. " She replied back in Russian, pulling more things from her bags.

" _That's good. How's America?_ "

" _Good, I guess. I've been here about two hours, I guess._ " She replied with a shrug, not caring that he couldn't see it.

Victor sighed. " _Don't worry, the month will be over before you know it, and soon, you'll be back here on the ice like before._ "

She glared at her foot covered by a black boot. " _Not until this stupid foot heals._ " She muttered.

" _Lena, I'm sure you'll be back on the ice soon. The doctor said it was only a fracture and it will be better in a few weeks._ " Victor consoled. 

Her eyes began to water and she blinked to clear them up. " _Yeah_."

" _I'm sure your the other two would love to hear from you, let me get them._ " Victor said in the hopes to get her mind off of it. He switched back to Japanese before calling for his husband and son. " **Yuri! Jacob! I have Elena on the phone!** "

It was a few moments later, only hearing the thumping of feet as the small boy ran down the stairs, before she heard his voice. " **Lena! I miss you, Lena! When are you coming back?** " 

She chuckled. " **At the end of the month, I promise, kay?** "

Jacob made a noise of affirmation. " **Can you bring me back something? Something from New York?** " 

" **Of course! I bet you want a key chain, right?** "  She teased, hearing her fathers trying to hide their laughs, and she knew Jacob was frowning.

" **No**!" He paused as he thought. " **Can you bring me back a hat? Or... something cool! Something really cool!** "

" **I will.** " She replied with a grin.

She spent a few more minutes talking to them, until Yuri told her she should start going to sleep, having figured out what time it was.

" **I don't want to sleep!** " She groaned. 

" **It's late, okay? At least try.** " He reasoned.

" **Fine.** " She grumbled. " **I'll call you all tomorrow.** "

" **Goodnight!** " The three chorused, and the call ended. 

She sighed and threw her phone on her bed as she changed, then threw herself on the bed and noticed all the messages she had gotten from the others, and smiled as she replied. She made sure she told them she made it safely, and it wasn't too bad here.

She laid on her bed talking with all of them for a long while before Kyoya reminded them all of the time difference, and they told her to go to bed. She made sure to tell them they were being like her dad before turning it off.

She had turned the light off and was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling, hoping for sleep. She finally decided it wouldn't come, and turned on the tv, lowering the volume as to not wake the two adults, and watched as a familiar anime played on the screen.

Sleep finally came hours later, and she drifted off, the tv still playing in the background.

 

 

The few days she had to adjust to her new enviroment flew, and soon she was being sent to an American school.

She frowned at the thought of having to attend a new school, when she loved Ouran, but grit her teeth as she left her room, completely dressed and ready as she hoped it wasn't like her middle school in Russia.

Her aunt frowned. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to wear something nicer on your first day?" She asked as she looked at the clothes Elena had picked.

It was her usual outfit, as she wasn't one for dresses or expensive clothes, she wore her favorite pair of jeans and one of the shirts Mrs. Hitachiin had given her, along with a jacket. She looked at it, and decided it was fine, and made sure to tll her that. 

"I think it's okay."

Her aunt pursed her lips. "Are you sure? It's your first day, don't you want to make a good impression?"

Elena shrugged. "There wasn't a dress code. And this follows all of the dress codes."

"Alright." Her aunt didn't sound sure.

The two drove up to the school, with Elena in the back seat. This reminded her of her first day at Ouran, but instead of a giant pink building, she was met with a normal looking public school.

"Do you need me to walk you inside? Oh, I'm sure you're so nervous! But I'm sure you'll make many friends, and-" Her husband cut the woman off with a  grunt.

"Clara, calm down. Don't make a fuss."

She took a deep breath. "Alright. Have fun!" She told the teen as she got out of the car, deciding she didn't need to hear more of her ramblings. 

No matter how nervous she is.

She slowly made her way into the school, clutching the bag of her brown school bag she brought from home, wanting something more familiar than any of the backpacks her aunt had suggested she get when she took her shopping two days ago.

At the entrance, she was met by a girl who was carrying a clipboard, who seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Excuse me," She said stopping Elena as she made her way up the steps. "Are you Elena?"

Elena nodded. "Hai."

"Uh, yeah. Hi. I'm Sophie, I'm going to lead you around today."

Elena just nodded again as the girl began to lead her through the halls, and to one f the rooms, which said led to the principal's office.

Sophie opened the door, and the woman at the desk looked up from where she was typing at the computer.

"I brought Elena." Sophie told her, who nodded, holding out several papers.

"Don't loose these. This is your locker combination and this is your schedule." She told the teen who just nodded as she listened to the woman who spoke as if she had said this millions of times. "If you need help, come here and ask me, or ask Sophie, one of the students, or the teachers."

Elena nodded once she finished and took them. "Hai, thank you." She was beginning to be more aware of her strong accent.

the woman looked at her over her glasses before going back to whatever she was doing on the computer.

Sophie then led her out and helped her find her locker, and she opened it, the girl leaning against the one next to it.

"We have most of the same classes, and I know a few kids who have the classes I don't who can help you find them. Luckily, they aren't too hard to find."

"Uh, hai." Elena said again, nervously.

"Why do you keep saying hi? I would think you would know more english than jus hi." Sophie said as she scrunched her eyebrows. 

Elena paused in putting her books away and blushed lightly. "Oh, it's yes in Japanese. I forgot that hi means something different here."

"Oh! They told me you were from Japan, I didn't know that." Sophie shrugged. "You know Japanese and English?"

"And Russian and Spanish. But I'm rusty at Spanish, it's not one I use often."

"That's so cool. How do you know so many languages?" 

"I was born here in America, and my biological parents spoke English and Spanish and I grew up speaking both. Then I was adopted by my dads, one who was Japanese and the other Russian. I learned both languages through them." She replied as she closed her locker.

"Cool. Come on, class starts soon, so we better get going." Sophie told her as she led her down the hall.

They entered the classroom, all the students sitting at their desks, and talking with each other as the young looking teacher stood at the front.

He noticed the two come in, and smiled. "Hello, girls. You must be our new student, Elena, correct?"

Elena bowed her head in greeting for a few moments, picking at her nails nervously. "Hai, sir. I'm Elena."

His eyebrows were slightly raised. "Well, it's nice to have you, I'm Alex Charlston. Care to introduce yourself to the class?"

he gestured to the other students who had gone quiet. She turned to face them, feeling nervous as they watched her every move.

"I'm Elena, it is nice to meet all of you." She told them, realizing just how strong her accent has gotten, and much different as well, having become a mix of Russian and Japanese accents.

She saw some of the kids cover their mouths and turn away giggling.

"What do you like to do, Elena?" Mr. Charlston asked, trying to ease her nerves.

She paused, having to translate some of the words into English. "I like to ice skate, and watch movies." She said slowly, and some of the kids continued to giggle behind their hands.

"Alright, class, make sure to make her feel welcomed. Elena, you can sit..." He trailed off, looking for an empty desk. "Ah! there, near the window, next to Jake. Jake, please raise your hand."

The boy raised his had and she made her way to that seat and sitting down, ignorig the others as she paid attention to Mr. Charlseton at the front.

"Alight, today we will be talking about...."

Elena was taking notes in her usual mxture of Russian and Japanese, something only she can understand most of the time when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned to see the boy, Jake, leaning over with a grin.

"Hey. I'm Jake. Nice to meet you." His teeth very white as he smiled almost flirtasiosly at her.

"Elena." She replied before going back to taking notes.

Jake didn't seem to be very interested in taking notes, deciding he would rather bug her. 

"What happened?" He asked, pointing at her foot and wrist.

"Skating accident." She replied, keeping her eyes on her paper.

He peered at her notes. "You know, random symbols and Chinese don't make for very good note taking."

"Its Russian and Japanese." She corrected. "And it makes perfect sense."

He scoffed lightly. "If you say so. How about we ditch next period? I've got a pack and we can get to know each other better."

She raised an eyebrow. "A pack?"

"Yeah." He leaned closer and lowered his voice even more. "Some cigarettes."

She frowned and turned away. "No. I can't skip class, and I strongly refuse to smoke. I can't get in trouble on my first day."

The boy smirked and scoffed lightly. "Alright, how about after school then? We can still get to know each other better.

"No. My aunt is picking me up, and I'll be busy."

"Doing what?" he pestered. 

"Nothing that concerns you." She said, ignoring him and going back to her notes, but not after cursing him in Russian under her breath. She learned the worst from Yakov and Yurio.

Jake kept trying to pester her, but after not getting a reaction from the girl, gave up.

She sighed lightly. If this kept up, this would be a long month.

 

 

Elena sat down at one of the empty tables in the cafeteria with her lunch that she brought, wanting to ignore the other giggling students, some who called out words in her strange accent.

She ignored them, her eyes prickling as many continued to tease her for her accent, repeating all the words she said incorrectly, how how she addressed and greeted people all throughout the day.

She pulled out her chopsticks and began to eat, keeping her eyes down as Sophie came over with a group of kids.

"Hey, I wanted to introduce you to my friends." She said as they set their trays down.

She was introduced to them all, and was miffed when Jake was part of them, and he sat next to her.

"What's with all the rice?" He asked rudely.

She ignored his question, instead trying to figure out what the other girls were talking about to keep her mind off the other teasing kids.

"Have you seen the new Hitachiin clothing line?" One of the girls, Nora, if Elena remembered correctly, asked the others. "It's gorgeous! I wish I could afford them, but my mom won't give me any money."

Elena smiled slightly. She had met the twins's mother a while back, as she had designed some of the costumes for Yurio and her dads, and they became good friends. Victor says they still get together from time to time, and she once showed Elena the newest clothing line she was working on because she wanted another opinion.

"I have! It's to die for!"Another girl, Elena believed her name was Kate, replied.

"Elena, what do you think of the new clothing line?" Sophie asked.

Elena shrugged. "Good, I suppose."

"Wait. Isn't that shirt from the Hitachiin line?!" Nora squealed. "Where did you get it?! I want one!"

Elena looked at her shirt. "Ah, um... A friend gave it to me." She replied, technically not a lie as the twins were her friends. 

"Is that even out yet? I thought they wouldn't be out for another month!"

Elena quickly thought up a response, as having things before they came out when you went to Ouran was normal. "They... came out earlier in Japan?"

The others seemed to buy it, Nora still fangirling over the shirt.

"By the way, Elena," Sophie said, trying to change the subject. "What happened to your foot and arm? if you don't mind me asking."

"I, uh, messed up a jump while skating and landed wrong. It's not my firt injury, though." Elena replied, nervously.

They all left it at that, changing the topic again, and Elena sighed in relief.

Elena finished her food in peace, deciding she will not be wearing those shirts to school anymore.

 

 

They day ended, and she soon found herself saying goodbye to the group, and avoiding Jake and the teasing students, as she made her  way to where parents picked up their kids and looking for a familiar vehicle.

She soon spotted her aunt waving frantically, and made her way there with a frown, and got into the back seat.

"How was the first day?" She asked, worriedly.

"Fine." she muttered in reply.

"Did you make any friends?"

Elena shrugged in reply.

Her aunt sighed, knowing she won't be getting any replies from the girl and they drove in silence.

She got back to the apartment and grabbed a snack from the kitchen before going to her room, hoping one of her friends could make her feel better.

Only Ritsu was on, and she messaged him.

'Hey' She messaged.

'Hey, how was the first day?' He replied.

'ok.'

'Something happened.' It wasn't a question.

'I guess.'

'I'm calling you.'

Before she could type anything else, her phone rang and she quickly answered.

" **Hey, what happened?** " He asked immeadiately.

" **Just some kids.** " She replied.

" **Do you want to talk about it?** "

" **Yeah**."

She began to tell him about the other kids teasing her because of her accent, about Jake, and she even told him about the unecessary amount of homework they gave her.

" **I miss Ouran. Everything was so different there.** " She finished.

" **It's only a month, right? Don't they usually forget about things like that by the end of the week? I'm sure something else will happen, and you'll just be another student.** " Ritsu replied, and she knew he was trying to be helpful.

" **I know. But I miss you, I miss the Host club, I miss all the super rich and spoiled jerks, and the sensible commoner.** " she said jokingly, and Ritsu laughed.

" **We all miss you too. We all miss having you as the teacher. I mean, your dads are good teachers, and all, but you know us better and it was always a lot of fun.** "

She smiled. " **We'll spend a whole day on the ice when I get back.** "

" **Would your foot be healed enough for it by then?** "

" **I don't care. Boot or no boot, we're going ice skating**." She giggled.

" **Doesn't sound like I can stop you.** "

" **You can't.** " She giggled.

The two talked for a while longer, before the redhead had to go, so she hung up.

Elena sighed and started on her homework, knowing most of the things already, so she got through it pretty quickly, which only made her dread the next day.

What else could happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Finally! I've had this planned for so long, but stuff happened.
> 
> We went out of town for almost 3 weeks, and I didn't have time to write.
> 
> And when I did, i got distracted. Mainly by Tumblr. Thanks.
> 
> So, I need some advice. When it comes to schools, basically. My classmates are my siblings, and I haven't been to school since second grade, so how believable is it?
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Adios!
> 
> ~Izzy


	10. Chapter 10

English - Normal

_ Russian - Underlined Italics _

**Japanese - Bold**

**_Enjoy reading!_ **

 

 

Many things happened the next week. 

The bullying didn't die down at all, if anything, it almost seemed to get worse.

She had a check-up, and the doctor told her her foot was healing quickly and she would soon be able to have the boot taken off.

Things were good, and things were bad.

They were usually bad when her Aunt tried to take her shopping.

Most days after school, she would grab a snack and go hide in her room until dinner, where she would immediately return to call her friends and family. It seemed to bother her aunt since she tried to do the same on weekends.

So the woman's brilliant plan seemed to take her shopping or going out to do something together.

Elena was tired of it.

That weekend was like every other weekend. Clara had dragged her out of her room and into the car, where she was driven to the mall and into one of the stores. Elena didn't bother to see which one.

Clara was digging through one of the racks of clothes before pulling out a pink sundress. "What do you think of this? I think it's perfect!"

Elena eyed the dress, noting all the pink and flowers. She shook her head. "No. Wouldn't wear it."

The woman frowned and put the dress back. "Okay, let's try something else. How about this?" She showed Elena a blue skirt with small gold decals.

Elena raised an eyebrow, wondering if the woman had seen her wardrobe. "No."

And that was how the next half hour went, her aunt picking out clothes she wished her niece would wear, Elena rejecting them all.

Finally, Clara sighed. "Okay, show me what you would wear. I'll follow you this time."

Elena gave a half-smile as she led her aunt out of the store and to another one that had caught her eye as she came in.

Her aunt sat in a chair as Elena grabbed some jeans, some t-shirts from the men's department (because to be honest, they were always much more comfortable.), and the clothes she used to practice skating, which included leggings and a comfortable shirt.

Clara dug through the pile, frowning at it all. "Really? Wouldn't you prefer something, I don't know, pretty?"

"No. I like these. They're comfortable." Elena replied with a shake of the head. "Besides, these are nice."

"But all of these shirts are for men!"

"They're more comfortable."

The two began to argue before Elena had enough and changed languages (and added a few curse words, since she couldn't be told off for them)

Her aunt groaned. "Fine. We won't buy anything. Let's just go."

She followed her out, still muttering curses in Russian.

The drive home was silent, and Elena locked herself in the room as soon as she got back, pulling up the video chat where she hoped  _someone_ was on.

And she was glad there was.

The Hosts were on, and she joined the group video chat.

As soon as it loaded up, she could hear Tamaki yelling at the twins about harassing his 'precious Haruhi', and she could clearly see them rolling their eyes.

It was too loud at the moment with Tamaki's yelling, so she saw Haruhi give her a small wave in one of the screens in the corner where she was laying on her bed with her homework.

" **-you shady twins! Leave Haruhi alone!** " Tamaki yelled.

" **Shut up, Boss,** " Hikaru said.

" **Hey, Elena.** " Kaoru greeted before Tamaki could say anything else.

" **Elena**?" Tamaki asked, looking at all the screens to try and find her, and smiled widely when he did. " **Elena**!"

Kyoya smiled from his corner. " **Hello, Elena. I hope you are well?** "

Hunny grinned. " **Hi, Ele-chan!** "

Mori smiled and nodded a hello.

Elena smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. " **Hey, guys.** "

Haruhi took noticed. " **Is everything alright?** "

The others were silent as they awaited her response.

" **It's nothing,** " Elena replied. " **My aunt and I had an argument.** "

" **About what?** " The two twins asked simultaneously.

" **She took me shopping again. Wants me to buy girly clothes.** " She frowned and glared at the wall behind the computer.

" **Don't let her get you down, Elena,** " Haruhi told her. " **You'll be home soon. And didn't you say that your boot might come off soon?** "

Elena smiled, and her eyes brightened, which relieved the others. " **Yeah. If everything goes well, I might get it off in about a week.** "

" **That's good. You'll be back on the ice in no time.** " Tamaki gave a wide smile.

" **And then you can continue to teach us!** " Honey cheered, getting closer to the screen.

" **Yeah** ," Mori said from the background.

They all continued to talk, and they managed to help Elena forget about the argument.

Until she was called for dinner.

" **I'll talk to you all again soon, okay?** "

" **Alright. See you later.** " Haruhi smiled.

" **Goodbye!** " Tamaki the twins and Honey said before she logged off, and Elena grinned as she went to dinner.

It started off peacefully, until her aunt spoke up, trying to convince Elena to wear some of the clothes she had shown her at the store that day. That seemed to lead to another argument, where she subconsciously changed languages again, yelling at her aunt in Russian.

"Speak English!" Her aunt roared as her husband tried to calm her.

" _No!_ " She shot back, standing up and leaving, stomping back to her room, her aunt yelling behind her.

She closed the door and threw herself onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow, angrily gripping the covers.

Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked several times.

She contemplated calling someone, Ritsu maybe, but she didn't.

She just wanted to go home.

 

 

School was the next day, and whenever she was asked a question by her relatives, she would only reply in either Russian or Japanese. It was driving her aunt up the wall. 

The school was just as bad as it has been the entire time. Jake kept trying to flirt with her, other made fun of her accent, and she felt like an outcast. 

The only thing that kept her from skipping all the classes was telling herself that it was only for a short time and that her dads would be very disappointed. So she powered through.

She felt tired, overwhelmed, stressed, and done with everything. She just wanted it to end.

She locked herself in her room more, had a harder time sleeping, wasn't as hungry, and her nail tearing habit had gotten much worse.

But she kept pushing through and going through the motions. Wake up (or in most cases, wait until it was time to get up), get ready, go to school, trudge through classes, pretend she was completely fine at lunch, trudge through the classes, go home into her room, do homework, talk to family and friends, sleep (or at least try to).

It was becoming the same thing every day.

And they were beginning to notice.

" **Ele-chan, do you feel okay?** " Honey asked one day during the video calls. 

Elena gave him a small smile, that they could all tell was faked. "I'm fine, Honey-senpai. Why do you ask?"

"You seem tired." He replied.

"He's right, Elena," Kaoru added.

"You don't look to well." Hikaru finished.

"I'm fine, guys. Just the change, and all." Elena replied.

Tamaki looked at her worriedly. "Please don't lie."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's just stress. The change, the school, all that."

They all watched her worriedly for a few moments before changing the subject, knowing that she doesn't want to talk.

 

 

The twins were coming to New York with their mother in a few days. They didn't say when just that they were.

That lifted Elena's mood.

One day the other girls in the group she ate lunch with were insisting that she goes out with them, as they were going to study for a test at a cafe. She agreed, knowing that more time away from her dreaded aunt would be good.

And that was how she found herself sitting in a booth at a cafe, drinking some tea as they read from textbooks and went over notes.

Her mind was elsewhere, excited to be able to see two of her friends again, she didn't think of anything other than what they could do.

She didn't realize she was smiling until Olivia, a darker skinned girl in their group closed her book with a smile of her own. "Elena can't seem to focus. I think she has someone on her mind." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Elena blushed lightly at the thought. "What? No..."

Nora just about squealed. "Who is it? You totally have a crush on someone!"

Elena blushed again, but instead of the twins, another face popped into mind, but she pushed it away, for now, promising to think about it later.

"No, I have some friends visiting from Japan. I'm just excited." She replied.

"Do you have a crush on them?" Sophie asked this time.

"No, they're just friends." She replied truthfully, tensing up when she felt an arm around her shoulders.

"She's right." A familiar voice said behind her as another arm rested on her head.

"We're just friends."

Her eyes widened as she shot around to see two familiar red heads.

" **Hikaru! Kaoru!** " She squealed, having changed to Japanese, and pulled them both into a hug, pulling back a moment later. "I didn't think you'd be here!"

Hikaru, she was pretty sure it was Hikaru, anyway, smirked. " **A family friend owns this chain of coffee shops. Our mom loves their lattes.** "

" **And their coffee cakes are killer too.** " Kaoru continues.

She turned back to the confused girls she was sitting with. "Oh, yeah. By the way, these are my friends, Hikaru and Kaoru. Hikaru, Kaoru, these are some friends I made here. Sophie, Kate, Nora, and Olivia."

The twins stood up straight, Kaoru resting his arm on his brother's shoulder. "Hey." They greeted simultaneously.

The girls smiled, Nora whispering to Kate quickly. "They're cute."

Elena cringed slightly as the twins smirked. 

"We get that a lot." they replied, and Nora blushed.

" **I'm just glad Tamaki isn't here.** " She muttered.

" **Hikaru? Kaoru? I have the drinks!** " A woman called out, and the twins turned to see a woman with red hair like theirs walking up with a tray with three cups and three pastries.

" **Hey, mom. Look who we found.** " The twins told her as she placed the food and drinks on a nearby table. 

" **Well, isn't this a surprise! I thought we wouldn't see you until tomorrow!** "  Yuzuha Hitachiins said when she saw her.

" **Hi, Mrs. Hitachiin. It's good to see you again.** " Elena greeted politely.

"Wait, is that Yuzuha Hitachiin The famous fashion designer?! You know her?!" Nora cried. 

Elena scratched the back of her head nervously. "Yeah, I guess I do."

As Nora and Kate fangirled and asked the woman questions, Elena turned to the twins.

" **How are things in Ouran?** " She asked.

" **Fine.** " The two shrugged. 

" **Your dads miss you, though,** " Kaoru added.

Elena sighed. "I know they do." Then she brightened. " **But I get my boot off in two days! And I'll be back in Japan really soon!** "

" **What about your wrist?** " They asked.

She looked at it. " **I don't need it to skate, so I'm not too worried.** " She shrugged.

The twins placed their arms around her shoulders. " **We're going to have so much fun this weekend.** " Kaoru grinned.

" **You're not Haruhi, but at least you'll ignore homework for a weekend to watch a movie with us,** " Hikaru added.

She laughed. " **We aren't going to stay up all night, are we?** "

" **Of course we are!** " She couldn't trust the mischevious glint in their eyes.

 

The twins ended up joining them as they finished the study session, their mom having to leave in order to get to a meeting. They didn't get much studying done, not with the twins there, but they left the shop before it closed, Elena leaving with the two red heads after saying goodbye.

Hikaru had his hands behind his head as they walked, Kaoru with his hands in his pockets.

" **I missed you guys,** " Elena said softly, not much noise other than the occasional car honk and people walking by.

" **We missed you too. The Boss and Honey-senpai were ready to jump on the plane with us, but they couldn't.** " Kaoru told her.

" **They sent you a few things, by the way,** " Hikaru added.

She smiled, the rest of the walk silent, her aunt and Uncle's apartment only a block away.

The twins looked up at the building when they arrived and followed her in as they looked at it, and studied it all on the way up.

Elena opened the door with her key, preparing herself for the worst.

" _I'm home!_ " She called out, a frustrated grunt coming from the kitchen.

"Welcome back!" Her uncle called back, having learned a few phrases in Russian a while back.

She led the twins into the kitchen where her aunt was cooking, and her uncle was at the table working on some papers.

"Hey, can I have a sleepover?" She asked them.

"Here?" Her aunt asked, stirring a pot.

"At a friend's place." 

"Which friends?" 

"These two." She pointed at the twins who stood behind her.

Her uncle was smiling as he watched his wife spin around to look.

"Hello!" The twins greeted.

She huffed. "From Ouran?" she sighed at Elena's nod. "I suppose. But no funny business! And speak English more often."

"Deal," Elena replied with a grin as she rushed to pack, the twins tagging along.

They snooped around her room as she threw some clothes into a bag, and a few other important items.

"What's with all this?" the twins asked, lifting up a frilly skirt from a bag in the corner.

Elena huffed. "My aunt. She's been trying to get me to wear those things the entire time I've been here. She doesn't get it."

The two shared a look before putting it back and following her out.

"Bye!" She called back, receiving a goodbye from the two adults as they left.

She was pretty surprised to find a limo out front, but Kaoru explained that he called for one earlier as they got in.

She happily talked and joked with the two of them during the ride, and at their penthouse.

"Woah. This is huge!" She exclaimed as they entered the expensive place.

The night seemed to go by much too quickly for her, they stayed up late and watched movies and played a few games before passing out on the floor that had been covered with blankets and pillows.

She felt so much lighter after that, relaxed and clear headed. 

Until they left.

She had gotten her boot taken off, and they had been waiting for her and took her to a rink, one that she knew her Dads owned, and they spent the rest of the day there.

She couldn't yet do the jumps again, but at least she could skate, and that was enough for her.

She was sad when they left, waving to them as they got on the plane, and watched it take off.

 

 

"I don't think its a very good idea. I mean, look at what happened last time!" Clara exclaimed one day when she came back from school.

"Why not? I've been doing it for years, and this wasn't my first accident!" Elena exclaimed. She had been trying to convince her aunt that since she got her boot taken off, she can go back to skating. She seemed to think otherwise.

"I just don't want you to get hurt again. We can sign you up for soccer! I'm sure you'll be good at it!" The woman said, trying but failing to convince her.

Elena let out a breath. "Aunt, in life, you get hurt. Physically and emotionally. I would rather get hurt doing what I enjoy, rather than in something I don't. Please. I know what I'm doing."

Her aunt sighed, seeming to have given in. "Alright. Just be careful, okay? You're still recovering."

Elena smiled and agreed, running to grab her skates her dads had sent her.

Things were turning around.

 

 

"So, I'm having a birthday party this weekend, and I want you to come,"  Olivia said, handing her an invitation.

Elena looked it over, a grin taking over. "Yeah, it sounds fun. I'll be there."

Olivia grinned. "Great! A lot of kids from school will be there, It'll be so much fun!"

Elena looked at the invitation again.

It will be fun.

 

 

Elena tied the laces again and went onto the ice. 

She was early today, deciding she might as well get some practice done before it fills up.

Her grin widened as she spun, feeling free.

She felt home.

Kids slowly arrived, Olivia, Nora, Kate, and Sophie are one of the first ones.

Elena was on the sidelines, taking a break, and soon joined them again.

With so many kids, she couldn't do much, but she had fun going around the edge with Olivia and Sophie and helping Nora stand.

Many were soon on the benches, taking a break and talking to each other before one of the kids decided to try something.

Many of them watched as some took turns attempting to copy the routines of some famous skaters, one rating how close they were to the real thing.

None of them were.

Elena took her turn after telling them which one, pausing in the center of the ice and taking a breath, as she had done many times before. She blocked the kids on the sides, snickering as they thought she couldn't be very good.

And the music started.

And she did what she had practiced many times. The moves graceful as her dad's had been.

When he did his Eros.

The song ended and she froze when it did and she immediately noted how silent it was.

Panting, she skated to the edge before stepping out to where her water bottle was and taking a drink, whispers circulating.

Kate and Nora ran up squealing. "That was amazing! I didn't know you could do that!" They both said.

Elena chuckled nervously. "Practice."

"That was more than just practice! That was talent! It was like you trained with the best!" Olivia told her.

She chuckled nervously, knowing that might as well be true. "Really?"

 

 

Kids stopped making fun of her at school, now a lot of whispers circulated, talking about how she might as well be a professional skater, and how she perfectly copied Yuri Katsuki's Eros performance.

Apparently, one kid had uploaded a video onto the internet. Yurio found it hilarious and kept telling Yuri and Victor that she was going to repeat what happened to Yuri and that they should be ready for when they come take her away. Victor was not amused.

Word had somehow gotten out that she knew the Hitachiin's, and she couldn't get a moment's peace. Girls that used to tease her and call her names, or completely ignored her, suddenly wanted to be her best friend.

She became the talk of the school, and suddenly she had the popularity that she didn't want. She could barely go skating without a crowd of kids from school trying to tag along.

She just knew that her hair  _must_ be turning gray.

 

" **That bad, huh?** " Ritsu asked after she told him about his day.

" **Yeah.** " She muttered back, rolling a pencil that was laying on her desk back and forth.

" **You can still go skate, right? I mean, that hasn't changed, has it?** " He asked, almost uncertainly.

" **Not really. They follow me to the rink after school. Won't leave me alone.** " She replied.

He hummed. " **Things will get back to normal, don't worry.** "

" **You say that every time.** " She muttered back.

" **Because it's true,** " He sighed. " **Look, I'm not good with these things. People are afraid of me most of the time, and it's not easy. But you'll be back in Japan in about two weeks or so, back in Ouran, and you won't have to worry about that. I'll get on a plane if I have to and follow you around school if you really need me to.** "

She looked at him and smiled. " **You'd do that?** "

" **Of course. You're my -** " He paused, seeming to try and find the best way to say it. " **My best friend, practically family, by now.** " He was blushing lightly.

Elena smiled. " **Thanks, Ritsu. You're the best, you know that?** "

He smiled back at her. " **It's getting late over there, you should get to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?** " 

She nodded, and with a happy smile, she said goodbye, turned off the computer and went to bed.

The smile never left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't this early! 
> 
> I just got really excited to write the next chapter, I couldn't help but update early.
> 
> Especially since a lot of people are starting school (or have started) I thought everyone could use something to brighten their day.
> 
> You're welcome!
> 
>  
> 
> Adios!
> 
> ~Izzy


	11. A/N

Hey guys.  
I just wanted to do this because I don't know where some of you guys live, but here in Texas I'm sre you all know about huricane Harvey.

The worst seems to be in Houston, and I wanted to make sure that anyone who reads this is ok, if you got hit.

So, you ok?

Luckily we didn't get hit badly, just a lot of rain. Please be safe! A fandom is a family, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you guys. Why do you think I put 'Amigos' at the end of my chapters?

Anyway, stay safe, ok? I know there were some lives lost, and i pray for everyone there.

Again, be safe.

Adios Amigos.

~Izzy


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English - Normal
> 
> Russian - Underlined Italics
> 
> Japanese - Bold
> 
> For those of you that will be hit by Hurricane Irma, stay safe. I will be keeping you all in mind. And will be posting a chapter after it like I did with Hurricane Harvey to make sure you're ok.
> 
> Stay safe and enjoy reading.

 

"How about it? We hang a few things here, a few things there, pull out a few games, and I know an amazing makeup artist I can call in and she can do your makeup!"

Elena sighed and leaned further into the couch.  Her aunt was trying to convince her to have a birthday party and invite all her friends cause she's so popular, and she needs to have a birthday party!

Yeah, right.

George sighed from the table where he was trying to work and rubbed his head. "Dear..." He muttered.

She didn't hear him, waiting for Elena to reply. 

The girl sighed. "I don't need a birthday party, my birthday isn't until December. It's October. I especially don't need a makeup party." She gave her aunt a pointed look.

Her aunt sighed and frowned. "But what if you aren't here then?  We want to be able to celebrate with you!"

Elena sighed again, getting more agitated. "I don't want a birthday party! They're already treating me like someone I'm not, and most of them didn't want to even be associated with me until they found out who my friends were!"

"That can't be true! I'm sure they all loved you!"

Elena gave her a look that was easily interpreted as 'really?'. "If you actually listen somewhat, you would know that 98% of the school either ignored me or made fun of me because I had a funny accent. They don't actually like me."

Her aunt groaned, rather immaturely she might add. "George, please talk some sense into your niece! Tell her she should have a party!"

George sighed again and rubbed his face. "If she doesn't want one, I don't think we should force one on her."

Her aunt groaned. "You're no help."  Turning back to her niece, she said, "Come on, we've left you alone all night before, we give you free reign, I let you buy any clothes you want, but you don't do anything a teenage girl your age does!"

Elena gave her a pointed look. "Wouldn't you prefer I  _don't_ do what girls my age are doing? I know there are at least two girls in my classes that are pregnant, and a whole bunch of them are doing drugs."

"Okay, maybe not that." Her aunt concluded.

Elena stood up. "I'm going to my room. I promised my friends I'd video chat them."

Ignoring the protests of her aunt, she left the room, going into hers and closing the door with a sigh.

Life was hard.

 

 

" **So she practically tried to force you to have a birthday party?** " Hikaru asked in the video chat.

" **Yeah, pretty much.** " She replied.

" **So how are things going?** " Haruhi asked, changing the subject.

Elena sighed. " **Could be better, honestly. I've still got girls begging to be my friends, and people asking me to recreate one of my dad's performances.** "

" **But none of them know who your dads are.** " Honey stated, all of them already knowing the answer.

" **Nope. And probably never will.** " 

Tamaki grinned. " **Good thing they don't have a Kyoya.** "

Elena laughed lightly. " **Yeah, I am so glad they don't.** "

" **I can hear you, you know,** " Kyoya said, not looking up from his book.

" **We know.** " The twins chorused. 

The Hosts kept talking, doing their best to keep Elena's mind on other things as they always were. Elena was grateful for that.

And she was glad she had friends like that.

 

 

She laid in bed that night, unable to sleep, rolling from one side to the other but to no avail. She sits up, rubbing her face, hating moments like these. Wanting to sleep but unable to.

Getting out of her bed, feet hitting the cold floor. Walking to her door and opening it, expecting to be greeted with darkness.

She wasn't.

At the end of the hallway in the kitchen, the light was on.

Curious, she made her way to the kitchen, stopping at the entrance.

At the table sat her uncle, reading a book and a pot of water boiling on the stove. He looked up and spotted her, a small and tired smile on his face.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked her, getting a shake of the head from her in reply. "Me neither. Sit down, I know what will help."

She slowly moved to the table and sat down across from him as he stood, going to the cabinet where he pulled out two mugs, placing a tea bag in both and adding the water before moving the mugs to the table, placing one in front of her.

"Here. My mom made this for me every time I couldn't sleep." He said as he handed her the mug, sitting back down in his seat.

She took the mug, holding it in both hands as she neared it to her face, smelling a strong herbal tea.

"Might want to let it steep for a few minutes." He told her with a grin as she set the mug back down. He seemed to study her face for a few moments before sighing and running his hand through his hair. "You look a lot like your aunt, but you're so different." He chuckled.

"You could say that again." She muttered, playing with the tea bag.

He huffed. "She was a  lot like you when she was your age, you know."

"No, that can't be true." Elena tried to hide the smile growing on her face, imagining her aunt wearing old jeans and t-shirt.

"It's true. It's because you're so alike that you but heads all the time." he sighed. "She's just really happy to have a child to care for."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, taking out the tea bag and setting it on the small plate her uncle had pulled out. 

He took a sip from his tea before speaking. "We've always wanted kids, but we can't have them. We've been thinking about adoption, but then we found out about you and she decided we'd take you in. I saw how happy you were there in Japan, and honestly, I thought we might as well leave you where you were happy. But your aunt insisted, and there wasn't much I could do to change her mind, so I kept quiet. It didn't work." 

Elena took a sip from her own tea. "Then why doesn't she just let me be? Let me do my own thing?"

"She's just treating you how she would her own daughter, I guess. She wanted a daughter she could dress in nice clothes, spoil, and do all that stuff." He said into his mug. 

Elena sighed this time. "I guess I understand..."

George smiled at her. "I'm talking to her, just don't get too frustrated with her, okay?"

Elena nodded as she finished her tea, setting it gently down on the table, but not looking up from it. "You won't be upset if I decide to go back to Japan right?" She asked softly.

"No, I promise I won't be mad, and Clara won't be either. But it would be nice to see you from time to time." George said with a smile. 

Elena looked up, a smile growing on her own face.

George stood up with a small groan, taking the two empty mugs. "Alright, time for bed. You still have school tomorrow."

Elena sighed and grumbled. "I don't want to. Barely anyone actually likes me."

George gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's not much longer. You can do it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She left the kitchen and went back into her room, lying back on her bed and curling up under the covers.

Maybe things won't be so bad.

 

 

 

She was wrong.

School was terrible. She was continually swarmed by other students, bugging her about getting them in touch with the Hitachiins or where she learned to skate so well and 'Do you need an agent? I can get you some awesome skating gigs!'

Yeah.

Not much longer. Not much longer.

Jake seemed worse than usual too, trying to convince her to go out with him. She continually rejected his advances.

She sighed, finally getting to breathe.

She had found herself out in the courtyard during lunch, managing to get past all the students somehow. She sat down on a bench and took out her lunch when her phone rang.

She smiled at seeing the caller ID and answered.

"Hello, Princess!" Victor called into the phone.

She giggled. "Hello, Papa!" She could hear her dad and Jacob in the background but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"How is everything?" He asked. She could hear the worry in his voice.

"Okay." She muttered, looking down at her lunch.

"Honestly?" He knew her too well.

"Not okay."  She replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry. We'll be there this weekend, okay? Hang in there, and soon you'll be back home with all your friends in Ouran. We'll invite everyone over!" He was trying to cheer her up. It was working.

Elena giggled. "Yeah, okay." 

" **Is that 'Lena? I wanna talk!** " She could hear Jacob yell. 

"ALright, it seems Jacob wants to talk, hold on." She could hear the phone being passed before she heard Jacob's voice.

" **Lena! We're going to New York soon! We're going to go get you, Lena!** " He yelled.

" **Yeah, Papa told me.** " She chuckled. She spent the next five minutes listening to whatever he wanted to tell her at that time as she ate come of her lunch. Soon, the phone was put onto speaker so the three could talk to her.

Suddenly she felt the phone leave her hand and jerked around to see Jake there holding it. 

"Who ya talking to?" He asked holding her phone. She could hear her dads' confused voices calling out for her.

She let out a low growl, getting tired of his antics. "My family. Please give that back."

Jake hummed. "Maybe. On one condition."

She glared at him. "What?" She spat.

He wiggled his eyebrows. "You know what."

She growled again and tried to grab her phone from him, but he held it above his head, out of her reach. "So? What's your answer?"

She growled again, remembering a trick Honey taught her one day and smirked. She swung her leg at his sweeping them out from under him and causing him to fall to the ground.

He groaned in pain as he sat up, seeing her take the phone back and pressing it between her ear and shoulder as she collected her things, apologizing to her dads as she did.

She left the field, but not without sending him a smug smirk his way, leaving the boy dumbfounded.

 

 

" **So you tripped him?** " Kaoru asked in their video chat that day.

" **And Honey-senpai taught you how?** " Hikaru continued.

" **Yeah. That's, Honey-senpai. I'm glad you taught me.** " She told the senior.

Honey gave her a wide smile. " **It's no problem! I'm glad it helped.** "

" **You know, Kasanoda has been acting a little funny lately,** " Haruhi said, changing the subject.

Elena's eyebrows scrunched together. " **Funny How?** "

" **Yeah, I've noticed that,** " Tamaki said, a thoughtful look on his face and two fingers on his chin.

" **He's been more nervous lately, and less annoyed at Tamaki and the twins,** " Haruhi answered.

" **Seems kind of sad, too,** " Kaoru added.

Elena frowned and looked down at her keyboard.  She had talked to him last night, and he seemed fine. What could be the problem?

 

 

She sighed as she left the school building, relieved that it was over for the week and that her dads would be coming to pick her up this weekend.

To say that she was excited would be an understatement.

That day had been her last, she had been spending most of her time hanging out with the group of girls she had become friends with, teaching them how to figure skate, and just having fun.

Elena smiled, remembering some of the things they had all done together. Which reminded her of the Host Club. The thought of them made her heart ache.

"What going on there?" Sophie asked, breaking Elena from her thoughts. 

Elena looked ahead to see a group of kids all chattering excitedly. One kid turned around and saw them, and began to wave excitedly as he ran over.

"Hey! Get over here! I'm pretty sure it's because they saw your video!" He said excitedly, grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the crowd. 

She was confused. Wasn't the video her skating? Yeah, her dads saw it (how could they have not) and shared it with pretty much everyone they knew. But none of them would have come just because of that video. It's not the first time Victor showed off his daughter's skating to everyone in the skating world.

So what's going on?

The boy pushed her past the crowd, and she managed to catch herself before she fell over.

Only to nearly fall back as something collided with her legs.

Or rather, someone.

She looked down to see Jacob was tightly hugging her legs. " **Elena! I missed you! I missed you so much!** " He cried.

Elena was shocked as she pulled Jacob into a hug. " **Hey, Jay, I missed you too.** "

" **Elena!** " Two voices cried and she found herself engulfed into two hugs by both her dads.

She laughed and hugged them back happily.

"Wait, you  _know_ them?" When kid cried out in shock.

Victor and Yuri pulled away from the hug and she turned to the stunned crowd sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. They're my dads."

Nora and Olivia had their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. "Wait, wait," Olivia said, waving her hands back in forth in front of her, "You know the Hitachiins, and your dads are Victor and Yuri, WHAT?"

Elena rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Uh, yes?"

After many, MANY, questions, she got into a car with her dads.

" **I thought you wouldn't be here until tomorrow, at least!** " She exclaimed once the doors of the car closed and they pulled away from the curb.

Yuri smiled at her from the rearview mirror. " **We wanted to surprise you.** "

" **Yeah! Did we, did we 'Lena?** " Jacob asked excitedly.

Elena turned to him and smiled. " **You sure did.** "

The car ride was filled with Jacob's endless chatter, Elena just enjoying being back with her family.

But she didn't know what was coming next.

 

"Ah, hello again." Elena's aunt greeted as she led her dads through the door.

"Hello." Yuri greeted, shaking George's hand.

George, unlike his wife, was smiling and friendly. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello!" Jacob greeted with a big smile. 

"Come in, we'll make some coffee, hot chocolate or something for the kids, and we can talk," George said, leading them to the kitchen.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Sure!" Victor followed happily, his husband and kids following.

After the coffee, hot chocolate for the two kids was served, George started a lively conversation with the two skaters, while his wife sat quietly fuming between her husband and niece, who sat next to her brother.

The small boy continued to ramble to his sister, occasionally stopping to sip his lukewarm hot chocolate, his older sister listening patiently.

The conversation topic soon changed to the one Elena had been dreading.

"Elena," said softly, "What do you want to do next?"

Elena slowly opened her mouth to answer but was quickly stopped.

"Of course she wants to stay here, isn't that obvious?" Her aunt stated.

Elena quietly sighed, expecting this. 

"Dear, maybe we should hear what she has to say," George told his wife, he glared at the table.

Elena took a deep breath, nervous about what was going to happen next. 

"Clara, you both have been very nice, and you're both amazing, but life here isn't for me." She looked directly at her aunt. "I know you wanted to have a child, but I'm happier where I've been, with this family/ You'll both always be family, but I honestly think I belong in Japan."

Her aunt was looking at her sadly and sighed before speaking. "I understand." George held his wife comfortingly.

Jacob, not knowing enough English to understand what was said, looked at his parents and sister in confusion. " **Does this mean Elena is coming back home?** " 

Elena giggled and ruffled his hair. " **Yes, I'm going home.** " 

As the small boy cheered, Elena turned back to her aunt and uncle. "You can always come and visit. I can invite you to events, and stuff."

George smiled. "That would be wonderful. And be sure to call from time to time, okay?"

Elena smiled and nodded in agreement. "Deal."

The mood lightened, the adults finished their coffee in a better mood, Jacob somehow convincing Elena to play a game with him. 

And they were happy.

 

 

 

Goodbyes are hard.

It was especially hard for Clara to say goodbye to her niece, but found it easier after Elena promised to call once they landed. 

She waved goodbye one last time as they went through security, back to Japan.

Back to where she called home.

 

As soon as they left the gate, she could see them.

The Host Club was waiting for them near the entrance, a big sign saying 'Welcome Home!' In big colorful letters, being held up by Mori and, a probably unwilling, Kyoya.

Tamaki had managed to pull them all into one big group hug, one where Elena and Haruhi were squished in the middle of. They wouldn't let go until Elena told them they couldn't breathe.

She looked around, happy to see all her friends again when it hit her. 

" **Hey, Haruhi?** " She asked the other girl as they all left together. " **Where's Ritsu?** "

" **I don't know. Tamaki was the one that got us all together.** " And so Elena turned to the eccentric blond, who didn't seem very eccentric at the moment.

" **I told him, but he just stammered out that he couldn't come since his dad had something to talk about or something. I honestly don't know.** " Tamaki replied.

Elena frowned, getting worried.

Did something happen?

 

 

She decided to call him after hanging up the call with her aunt.

It rang once, twice, three times.

It went to voice mail.

She frowned, leaving a text before she got into bed, hoping for a reply the next morning. 

It took her a while to fall asleep, worried for her friend.

And in the morning, there wasn't a reply.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I uploaded!
> 
> Not much else to say, really.
> 
> Adios Amigos!
> 
> ~Izzy
> 
> ~Izzy


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear anyone who has been in any of the natural disasters/ shootings that have happened recently.
> 
> Are you all okay? I hope you are!
> 
> Since Elena is back in Japan, things will return to normal. Whenever English is needed, it will be bold. Russian in italics.
> 
> Enjoy!

Elena was worried. 

Ritsu hadn't called back, and she hasn't heard from him since before her flight back. If she got anything after living with her dads for so long, it was Yuuri's anxiety.

What happened to him? Why wouldn't he talk to her? Did he not like her anymore? What if her didn't want to be friends anymore? Did she say something wrong?

 

'Breathe, Elena, breathe. It's okay.' She told herself, taking steady breaths. It was Monday, her first day back at Ouran. She was going to stay at the club today and spend time with some of the guests and the Hosts, then proceed to give the Hosts their lesson and see how they've improved.

Tamaki wants to start on routines soon. She told him she'll see.

Elena let out a sigh and grabbed her bag, happily smoothing out the yellow dress. She was glad to be wearing it again, even if she didn't like dresses, this one she likes.

Maybe it's because it's the school uniform, or maybe she actually likes dresses and is only just realizing it. Who knows?

She descended the stairs to be greeted by Yuuri fixing breakfast, Victor looking at some papers at the table as Jacob tiredly sat in his chair holding tightly to one of his stuffed animals.

Victor looked up and smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart!"

Jacob rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Good mornin'." He yawned out.

Her anxiety forgotten, she ruffled his hair as she sat down. "Good morning."

Yuuri smiled and placed four plates on the table. "How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Fine." She smiled, taking a bite.

"Good." Yuuri replied with a smile as he sat down, grabbing Jacob's napkin and cleaning his face.

"Elena, your friends are coming to the rink today, yes?" Victor asked as he put his papers down.

Elena nodded. "Yeah, Tamaki really wants to start a routine and have everyone master it by around Christmas."

"Are you going to need help creating them?" Yuuri asked.

Elena nodded. "Ah, yeah. That would be a big help. But I also need to see what they're good at. I'll let you know possibly tonight."

"Okay. But just so you know, the rink may be a little full when you get there. But they'll all be familiar." Victor replied, faking working on his papers as he looked at his daughter's reaction out of the corner of his eye with a smirk.

Elena nearly choked on her food. She swallowed and looked up at him. "It Yurio, Otabek and Phichet going to be there?"

Victor hummed. "Hmm... Can't say. I guess you'll just have to find out."

Elena groaned and slumped back in her seat, knowing that he definietly won't say. "Okay..."

Victor patted her hair and she glared at him, only recieving a chuckle in response as he turned to Yuuri and starting a conversation about something to do with the rink and paperwork.

Elena blocked it out.

She was almost sad (almost) when she had to leave for school. She managed to pull herself out of her chair and get out the door with time to spare. 

Her anxiety returned on the walk to meet with Haruhi.

She was somewhat lost in thought when the two girls met up that she didn't notice Haruhi talking to her.

"Elena, are you okay?" Haruhi asked when Elena had barely said a word.

The girl in question sighed. "It's just... I've caught up with everyone I know from Ouran except Ritsu, and I'm worried. And it's... weird. When the twins didn't text or call me at 3 am, and I didn't hear from them for two whole days -which is weird- I wasn't as worried as I am now. And now I don't know why I'm so worried, and I don't know what's going on, and I'm confused..." She looked up at Haruhi with frustration. "Is he okay?"

Haruhi didn't say anything for a moment, worrying Elena more, and then she smiled. "It's okay! Ritsu is fine, but he has seemed more worked up over nothing lately, but fine." She paused, thinking with a finger on her chin. "Though, he did call me yesterday and talked for ten whole minutes before saying thanks and hanging up. It was late and I couldn't catch much, though, so I don't know what it was all about."

Elena groaned lightly, grabbing her hair and looking at her shoes. "I'm worried, Haru. What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore? Did I bug him talking about school and my aunt while I was in America?"

Haruhi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay! Look, maybe the Host club can help."

Elena let go of her hair and looked up. "You think so?"

"I'm sure so! Come on, let's go!"

Elena smiled, her mood lifting. It has to be nothing!

 

 

They arrived at the school, students milling about with the Host club under one of the trees where they usually gathered.

Elena waved, most of them waving back.

"Hey, guys." She greeted as they got close.

Tamaki's smile faltered. "Elena, is everything alright?"

The smile Elena had faded. Of course he could see right through it. "Well..." She trailed off.

Haruhi quickly explained to them what Elena said on their way here, something she was immensly grateful for. Suddenly, Tamaki and the twins' faces lit up, the two redheads getting mischevious smiles. Tamaki was smiling softly as Honey seemed to get excited.

Quickly, they all got in a group huddle a few feet away, whispering. Elena looked on confused. What were they doing?

Soon they came back, Tamaki leading them and looking ready to say something.

"Elena, dear Elena." he started, "This is a serious case, and we will be looking into it. Of course, this will be placed number one in our priorities, so please be patient. Now, excuse us and spend some time with your classmates." He finished, running off with Kyoya, Mori and Honey, leaving her with Haruhi and the twins. 

She looked at the three. "What just happened?"

The twins swung their arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it! Come on, let's find something to do."

Elena was confused now.

 

 

In the meantime, the other four had gathered in the library where Ritsu Kasanoda was currently looking at some books.

"Alright men! We have Haruhi and the twins distracting her, now for phase two! Interrogate Cassanova! Mori-senpai! Honey senpai!" he declared, pointing at the two seniors. 

"Yes sir!" Honey cried with a salute.

"Both of you are going to interrogate him, since he likes you best! Got that!"

"Yess!" Honey replied, walking off with his older cousin to the redhead in one of the ailes.

"Ritsu-chan!" Honey called as they neared him.

Ritsu looked up from the book. "Oh, hey. What's up?"

Honey got close to him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Uh... Sure? What is it?" He looked up at Mori for some sort of an idea of what it might be, but got nothing.

"Do you like anyone?" 

Ritsu had a very light red tinge to his cheeks. "Uh-uh, yeah I like someone. I like a lot of people."

"No! Do you like like anyone?" Honey asked this time, giving him a knowing look.

This time his face seemed to turn as red as his hair. "W-what?! What gave you that idea?"

"You do! You do!" Honey cheered. "Who is it? I think I know who!"

Ritsu Kasanoda, the head of a Yakuza clan, was a blushing stammering mess. "W-well, I-I, uh-uh... t-there's, w-we-well..."

Honey waited patiently. "Come on! It's okay! Tell us!"

Ritsu looked around nervously, lowering his voice to a whisper. "W-well... It's... It's Elena, okay! But don't tell her. I don't want to ruin our friendship, please?"

"Don't worry! We won't tell! See you later, Ritsu-chan!" Honey waved goodbye as he turned with his cousin and left.

Ritsu stood there red faced, confused, and holding a book about the French revoltion.

"What just happened?"

 

 

Elena didn't see the others for the rest of the day.

She sighed in relief as the last class ended and she got up, going to Music Room Three for the Host club.

There she found her four seniors talking over a table.

"Elena! Haruhi! What a splendid surprise! Come, we're about to start!" He led her to one of the couches and had her sit down.

"What's going on?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing is going, why would you ask?" He asked, nervously/

"Okay..." She turned back the table, deciding this was completely normal. Because, well, it kind of is.

Soon, the Host club was in full swing, girls mingling with the Hosts of their choice, Elena, and each other.

"Oh, Tamaki, when will that surprise be ready? It's been so long!" Elena overheard one girl say to the blond.

"I know you are all so excited, my dear." Tamaki started. "But we aren't ready to show to you lovely ladies, but don't fret! You will see it soon."

"Oh, Tamaki!" The girls swooned.

Elena happily took a sip of her tea, glad to be back in the antics of her friends.

"How are the lessons going?" One of the girls she was sitting with asked.

"Very well, from what I heard. I'm going to see for myself." Elena replied.

"Oh, that's good! I really can't wait!" Another girl continued.

"Oh, yes. I saw the video of you skating on the internet, and I'm really excited!" The third added.

Elena blushed. "I-I didn't know you saw that."

"Of course we did! You were amazing!"

Elena chuckled nervously. She felt like she was suddenly one of the Hosts.

"Ladies! We here at the Host Club thank you for being here, but it is time for us to bid you all farewell. Please come again." Kyoya addressed from the front of the room.

All of the girls sadly left, saying their goodbyes and leaving in groups. As soon as the last one was out the door, the twins closed them.

Elena sighed in relief as they all gathered together.

"So Elena-" Hikaru started.

"How was your first day back?" Kaoru finished.

"It felt like I was turned into a Host." She replied, giving them a pointed look.

"Well that certainly wasn't our intention," Kyoya said as he wrote in his notebook. "Though at times it does seem like you are one. When you're here, of course."

Elena rolled her eyes and picked up her bag as she stood. "Well then. Let's go. We have practice."

They all nodded as the Hosts left, making their way out.

 

 

Elena grinned excitedly when she saw a head of red hair standing at the entrance of the school. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she rushed forward excitedly.

"Ritsu!" She called out. He turned and smiled when he saw her. She thought she saw a hint of a blush, but pushed it to the side. That's not important.

She tripped once she was just a few feet away, closing her eyes and bracing for the impact of the concrete below. She was confused when she didn't feel it, instead something soft. 

She opened her eyes when she heard someone below her groan and a hand on her arm. She turned to see the red head underneath her, Elena having landed ontop of him.

She blushed as he asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded in reply as she sat up, face burning. "Y-yeah. Are you okay?"

He grunted as he sat up. "Yeah."

She felt the butterflies in her stomach, but swallowed hard and put them to the side. She had things to do, butterflies won't change anything.

Besides, she had a bone to pick with him.

Her cheeks cooled as she turned to him, flicking his ear.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, turning to her in confusion. "What was that for?"

"I haven't heard from you all weekend! I was worried!" Elena answered, trying to refrain from flicking him again.

He nervously rubbed the back of his head, avoiding her look. "I, uh, well..." He stammered, seeming to try and find the right words to tell her. "It's a long story."

She glared at him for a few moments, and he fidgeted. "Fine. I'm letting you off now since we have to go."

He sighed in relief as the two stood, the Host Club joining them.

"Well, now that you two are done, we better get going. I have a car waiting." Kyoya stated, not looking fazed at all.

Elena blushed more as the group began to move.

And Elena was confused.

 

 

She was calling orders to the Hosts, studying what they were doing, seeing who was better at what, and possibilities for routines.

Honey skated up to her while she was focusing on Tamaki, leaning against the barrier.

"Ele-chan?" H said, looking up at her.

"Yeah, Honey-senpai?" She asked, not looking away as she ran through a few possibilities.

"Do you like Ritsu-chan?"

"Yeah, I like him. I like all of you." She replied.

"No, do you like him?" He said again.

That got her attention as her attention went to him and her cheeks reddened. "W-well, uh, I don't... really know."

He hummed. "Okay!" And with that, he left.

And left her wondering.

Did she like him?

 

 

 

It had been several days after things had returned to normal. She still kept in touch with the girls from America, but had gotten busy catching up to Tamaki's schedule. She had a big group skate in mind, but she wasn't sure about it yet.

The rink was closed that day due to repairs, so she sat at a table with some other guests, talking happily.

"Elena, you're almost like an unnoficial host! It's kind of funny," One girl mentioned.

Elena awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "I guess sometimes I just need to hang out with girls, and what better place?" They agreed with her.

"Oh, Elena! Did you know there was a Host club movie? It was so amazing and emotional!" Another squealed, changing the subject.

"They made a movie? They didn't tell me about it." Elena mentioned and the girls looked a little confused.

"I suppose it was because they've been so busy," One girl decided after a moment, the others agreeing immediately.

The subject was changed, and soon the club closed, Hikaru and Kaoru closing the doors behind the last girls to leave.

Elena collapsed next to Haruhi with a sigh. She really wanted to skate.

"What were you all talking about, Elena?" Hikaru asked as he and his brother rested their arms on the back of the couch.

"Not much. They said I'm like an unofficial host, and mentioned you all did a movie." 

The twins immediately covered her mouth. "Don't let her hear you!"

Elena pushed their hands away, annoyed. "Don't let who hear me?"

Suddenly laughter was heard and a machine coming to life. The floor opened up and a circle platform was raised. Standing on it was a girl with a pink bow in her hair, laughing with her hands on her hips.

The Hosts groaned. "Our manager," Hikaru said, answering her question.

She stared at the girl, trying to make sense as to what just happened.

"Hello Elena, I suppose I should have actually spoken to you sooner, but I was a bit busy. Anyway, I am Renge, the manager of this here Host club." Renge said with a flourish. "Sadly, they didn't bring me into the decision to have you into the Host club, but that's fine! You're absolutely amazing, and so are both of your dads, so I approved!"

"Renge, why are you here?" Kyoya asked exhasperatedly. 

Renge pointed at Elena. "She's the reason! I have something to propose!" Elena raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The twins sighed. "What is it?"

"I want to make her an official Host!" She declared.

All of the Hosts looked at each other, Kyoya writing in his notebook.

"Kyoya? Thoughts?" Tamaki asked, looking at his friend.

Kyoya wrote for another moment before speaking. "I do see where she's going with this. Whenever Elena is here, she spends time with the young ladies and entertains them until it's their turn with one of us. But, the way she does it, it's almost as if she's a well-known guest, but they have said they see her as an unofficial Host. We always can make it official, but I would leave it up to her." Kyoya finished with closing her book.

They all looked to Elena and she could suddenly feel a lot of presure for her decision. "Well, Elena?" Tamaki asked.

SHe thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think I'd have the most time for it, honstly. I'm not always here, and I've been thinking about starting competitions soon, too..."

Haruhi put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "It's okay."

Range had a hand on her chin in thought. "Official Hostess, but a specialty! Only here sometimes, so they have to come while she's here!"

"Let it go, Renge." Kyoya said, continuing to add to his book.

She sighed. "Alright. Second thing! We're shooting another movie!"

the twins gave her an annoyed look. "Why?"

"Because we have a new member to the team! It's going to be new and amazing, and showing everyone what you've been doing! Show them the side of you outside of school!" She twirled, hands clasped together under her chin and sparkles in her eyes as she looked on dreamily. "It'll be perfect!" She flipped back around, pointing at them. "And I will not be taking no for an answer! This is what they want to see! We start next week!"

Her platform lowered and the hosts sighed. Elena was just confused.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Tamaki began, addressing the people there, "we are doing the second movie! I need you all to be ready for it! We have no idea what Renge has up her sleeves, but we should be ready for anything! But that doesn't mean we are going to slack off on training, so I want you all to do your very best!"

The twins and Honey were lined up in front of him. "Yes sir!" They cried with a salute.

Kyoya sighed, already going over the budget and everything. "I suppose we are all free to go to our homes, considering practice in cancelled for the day."

They all agreed, leaving the school to go to their homes or wherever they need to be.

This was going to a be a busy year.

 

 

Practices continued as normal, but Renge had brought a camera crew to record some of it, Renge explaining what was happening, which wasn't necessary.

It caused her to loose focus several times, falling onto the ice. She wasn't used to this.

With the next fall she had on her jump, she gave up, lying on the ice with her limbs spready out, not caring how cold it was.

"Cut!" Renge cried from her director's chair. "Elena, is something wrong? you keep falling, that's not good to put in the movie! You're supposed to be the pro of the group, training these newbies to be like you! You're supposed to be aspiring to be like your dads and win gold! That's not what I'm getting!"

Elena turned her head to look at her. "Maybe it's because you're giving unnecceassary commentary, pointing out everything that I do."

Renge had a hand on her chin as she seemed to think about it. "Nope. Can't be it. Let's try again, okay? Give us your all! And, action!"

Elena stood, skating foreward again. She wanted pro? She would get it. Nailing the next jump, a salchow, smirking at the camera.

Renge shot up, holding her papers in a fist. "Yes! That is exactly what we wanted! Keep going!"

This happened a few more times, before Renge deemed they had enough. "Alright, take five!" She yelled as she went to go speak with the crew.

Elena, breathing heavy, skated to the edge and off the ice, grabbing her ater bottle and drinking. The Hosts and Ritsu wandered in then, skating gear at the ready.

"Ele-chan! We're ready!" Honey called as he waved from atop Mori's shoulders.

She put her water bottle down and smiled. "Hey, Honey senpai, hey guys." ONce they neared her, she lowered her voice. "Is she always like this?"

"Like how?"Tamaki asked as he pulled on his skates. 

"She asigned me my 'role'" She did finger quotation marks in the air. "Apparently, I'm the depressed adopted daughter of the two greatest figure skaters ever, aiming to be just as good as them, but with a strong doubt that it would ever happen."

"Don't worry, she did the same to us last time." Honey said comfortingly. "I was the baby faced thug. Tama-chan was the lonely prince. She didn't change Kyo-chan at all."

"Yeah, she gave us all something. Don't worry about it." Haruhi comforted.

She smiled. "Thanks guys."

"Now then, I believe we have a practice to get to?" Kyoya added.

 

 

'Breathe, you can do this. You've been working on this for a long time. You can do it.'

That's what she's been telling herself for the past twenty minutes. Over and over.

But she just couldn't do it.

Everytime she tried, she failed. She messed up the jumps, forgot what came next, mixed everything up, everything she could do wrong, she's done it.

And she was tired.

Frustrated, she kicked the wall, muttering a Russian curse and was glad no one was here to hear it or see her regret kicking the wall.

She flopped down on the ground, her foot throbbing as she buried her face in her knees. Why did she think she could do this? She never could, and she never will. She'll never make it into the competition, or do anything.

Maybe she should give up.

She blinked, the tears stinging her eyes and she took a shaky breath to try and calm down.

"E-elena?" 

Her head shot up to see who it was, only to see a familiar redhead.

She wiped at her eyes quickly, hoping he didn't see her near crying. "Hey, Ritsu. What's up?"

"Uh, nothing really." He replied as he sat down on the floor next to her. "Are... you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... fine." She said. "Uh, why do you ask?"

He blinked, seeming confused as to why she was telling him she was fine when she clearly wasn't. "Are... are you sure? We can talk."

She turned to look away with a small sigh, the tears stinging her eyes again. After a moment she answered. "I'm just frusturated. I can't get this routine right. I think I'm just going to drop out of the competition."

"What? Don't do that, you've been working so hard to do it, and you can't give up now." He said, leaning foreward to try and see her face. "We all have your back, and we know you can do it."

She slowly turned back to look at him again. "You think?"

"I know. You're amazing. If anyone can do it, you can. Just don't give up."

She smiled, wiping at the tears again, but more replaced them. "Thanks Ritsu." She sniffed. 

He gave her a smile, wrapping his arm around her shoulder comfortingly. "Let's see if you can get it this time, okay? I'll be cheering you on."

She nodded.

After that, it went better. She was more confident in her ability to do it, and she completed it like she had hoped.

And her outlook changed. Suddenly, she could do it. She can get into the competition, and she will win.

Because she had some special people backing her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY!
> 
> This took so much longer than I would have liked.
> 
> But I have a good reason! Ready to hear it?
> 
> So it started with this dragon, and I had to save this prince, but it turns out the dragon was the prince, while Nicholas Cage was the evil wizard that cast a curse on the prince turning him into a dragon. 
> 
> I wish it was something like that.
> 
> Instead, other things happened.
> 
> We moved into our new house (we aren't done)
> 
> I was freaking out because of the earthquakes in Mexico (we have relatives there[don't worry, they're okay])
> 
> I was actually pretty lazy when it came to writing.
> 
> I didn't have access to the laptop.
> 
> I was trying to make friends with people in real life (it's not easy [help!])
> 
> And I got back into roleplaying (curse you, 14 year old me!)
> 
> So, yeah. Sorry? No dragons, princes, or Nicholas Cages were invlolved. But that would make things 10X better!
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me and this story! Love you guys!
> 
> Adios amigos!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAANNNNNNNNNNNND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEIIIIIIII WWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL AAAALLLLLLLLWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYSSSS LLOOOVVEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUEUUU
> 
> Thank you, sister, for the beautiful song above ^^ It was a nice surprise to see when I opened up the chapter.
> 
> Anyways, on to the story!

Elena sat at the kitchen table, her book open in front of her, but she wasn't actually reading any of it. She had her head propped up on her hand, lifting up the page as if to turn it, but not actually turning it. She had been in the same paragraph for the last ten minutes.

Yuuri was washing dishes, watching his daughter out of the corner of his eye. Victor was at the ice rink doing some work and Jacob was at a friend's house, so it was just the two of them, and it was quiet. 

He put the last plate on the rack and dried his hands, turning around to face Elena. He threw the towel over his shoulder and leaned against the counter. "Everything alright?"

Her head shot up and she looked at him confused. "Hmm?"

"Everything alright?" He repeated. "You've been on that same page for half an hour,  just staring at it."

She shook her head and looked back down at the book. "No, I'm fine."

Yuuri raised an eyebrow as he moved to sit in front of her. "Are you sure?"

She was quiet as she played with the page she was ready to turn. "When... when did you know you liked Papa?"

"I've always liked him." He replied, his eyebrows knit together. 

"No, like, like like him?" She looked up, hoping he understood.

He did, and a smile began to tug at his lips. "Does this have to do with a crush?"

She looked back down. "I- I'm not sure, yet."

He leaned his arms against the table. "Well, I had butterflies in my stomach, I still do get them sometimes, and all I wanted to do was be with him."

"But... how do I know? What- what if... what if I don't  _actually_ like him, and I'm just... just..." She stared at her book sadly.

Yuuri smiled softly. "That's for you to find out. Don't worry about it too much, okay? Take some time, and sort things out."

She opened her mouth to say something else when the door opened. "I'm home!"

Yuuri turned to see his husband come inside. "Welcome back."

Victor paused at the entrance to the kitchen, looking between his husband and distraught daughter. "What happened?"

Yuuri smiled and looked at Elena, who blushed and buried her face in her arms. "Noooo...."

"Someone has a crush." Yuri said in a sing-song voice, receiving another small 'Nooooo...' from his daughter. 

Victor's smiled wide as he slid into a seat next to his daughter. "So? Who is it?" 

She looked up her face red. "Papa!"

He just continued to smile and looked at her expectantly. 

"No!" She groaned again and stood, picking up her book. "I have to finish reading." 

"Aw! Come on!" Victor cried. "Tell me!"

She giggled as she began to walk up the stairs. "Nope!"

She smiled, hearing Victor whine to his husband.

 

 

 

 

"Just do what you usually do!" Renge chirped. "Pretend we aren't here, okay!"

Elena sighed. "Okay, everyone on the ice!" 

She slid forward a few feet, the others following and beginning the practice. She skated around them, guiding them and correcting them. Everything went the same as it always did, with the exception of Renge and the camera crew.

They soon took a break, Renge talking with the crew as they rested, taking sips of water.

She sat next to Ritsu, doing her best to look at him as little as possible. Which meant staring down at the floor as he talked, occasionally nodding along to what he was saying, or making a sound of affirmation.

"Hey, you doing okay?" He asked after a while, looking at her worriedly.

Her head jerked up to look at him. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's just... you've seemed a bit... off lately." 

She bit her bottom lip as her eyes darted around. "Hey, I've been thinking about the Host's routines, thoughts?" She asked, changing the subject.

It worked, and the subject changed. But what neither of them noticed were the Hosts watching them from the corner of their eyes.

 

 

She had signed up for a competition when she got back. They were hosting it in her dads' rink, and after some urging (from them and the Hosts) she signed up. Her stomach was churning and her nail picking had gotten worse. She spent as much time as she could practicing by herself, usually before the Hosts got there, and before Renge would come around with her camera crew. She seemed to have the whole thing planned out and wanted an emotional scene from the competition, as well as a voiceover from her. 

She felt as if she was going crazy.

She had less than a month to prepare, which meant costume, and routine ready. Apparently, Victor was in contact and on good terms with Mrs. Hitachiin, the twins' mother. She immediately agreed to make her a costume and if they could come this weekend to get measurements and everything. She needed.

She spent more time practicing the routine as well as guiding the others in theirs.

She was almost regretting joining this competition.

 

 

"Hey, Elena." The twins greeted as she arrived with her dads to their mansion.

She smiled. "Hey."

They smirked, putting their arms around her as they led her to where their mother was waiting, Victor and Yuuri followed behind. "We've been helping to design your costume." 

"Should I be worried?" She asked, a smile growing on her face.

"Don't worry, I did most of it." Mrs. Hitachiin said as they neared her. She smiled and gave her sons a pointed look. "It's good to see you again, Elena."

Elena smiled back. "You too."

"Hello, Yuzuha!" Victor greeted her.

"Victor! It's been so long, you have to come over again soon for tea! And Yuuri, you need to come by too!" She exclaimed.

Yuuri smiled softly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm sure we will take you up on that soon."

Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to be getting impatient. "Come on! Let's show her!"

Their mother sighed, a little over dramatically. "Alright, alright. Let's go."

The twins happily led the group with Elena being dragged in between them, to what she guessed to be their mother's studio. There were some fabrics in rolls and shelves on the wall along with some threads and other things. Mannequins were strewn around the room, some with some fabric pinned onto them while others were bare.  A large desk was facing the window with a chair behind it, with papers covering some of the surfaces with a lamp.

Mrs. Hitachiin walked over to the desk, straightening the papers as the twins dragged her over to it, her dads following.

Mrs. Hitachiin held up the design. "Ta-da!" The twins exclaimed dramatically, gesturing to the design.

Elena studied it carefully. "It's... It's awesome! I love it!"

The three Hitachiins seemed to brighten.

Mrs. Hitachiin smiled as she grabbed a measuring tape. "Alright, let's get the measurement and we'll begin work on it!"

Elena smiled and could easily say that she was getting more excited about this.

 

 

 

Elena hit her head against the wall.

She takes back everything she said about being excited about it, instead, she was nervous and anxious and wanted to hide under her covers for the rest of her life.

She ignored the water bottle next to her, as she sat on the floor with her head against the wall as she stared at her knees.The competition was slowly creeping up on her, less than a week now and she couldn't feel less ready. No one has seen her routine yet, and her dads only have a vague idea from the description she gave.

She was almost regretting every decision she made that lead up to this point. Maybe she could sneak to Russia with Yurio and Otabek. No, they'd know she's there. And they're coming to see her at the competition anyway, which was only a few days away, and she wasn't ready and-

Okay, stop. She took a deep breath as she forced the thoughts out of her mind. SHe tried to remember what Yuuri had told her to help calm down when she got too worked up.

A deep breath in, a deep breath out. Think of Makkachiin. Think of puppies, and kittens, think of your favorite movies, think about gardening. Ritsu likes to garden, he has a garden. He brought her some vegetables from it once, that was nice.

Her cheeks reddened. That was  _not_ helping.

The doors opened, and they all called her name, offering her a good distraction. 

She smiled. Why was she so worried? She had so many people backing her up.

 

 

There was a Host Club meeting three days before a competition. Kyoya said for her to be there as she was now an Official Member of the Host club, but she wasn't a Host.

She walked through the doors, having waved goodbye to Ritsu at the end of the hall. She kind of missed him being there already, but wouldn't admit it, even to herself.

Hikaru and Kaoru greeted her at the door with matching grins. 

She raised an eyebrow, not trusting their faces. "What did you do?"

They rolled their eyes. "Why do you assume we did something?" Hikaru asked.

"Okay, what do you want?" She asked, not batting an eyelash.

Their grins widened. "Let's play a game!"

"I thought there was a meeting." She said as she pushed past them and to one of the couches.

"Yeah, but Haruhi had to talk to one of the teachers," Kaoru answered.

"And Tamaki dragged the others out on an 'important mission'." Hikaru did air quotation marks with his fingers at 'important mission.'

"Okay?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Where were they going with this?

"So let's play 'Which one is Hikaru?'" They both said as they pulled out matching green hats and put them on their heads. 

"Isn't this that game you play with your customers?"  She rolled her eyes but was amused with her friends' antics, so she decided to play along.

"Yup!"

"Fine." She said with a smile.

The twins linked arms and began to spin around, switching directions every once in a while. As they were doing that, Haruhi made her way into the room, setting her bag down and taking a seat next to Elena. 

"Are they doing which one is Hikaru again?"

"Yup." Elena nodded.

The twins stopped just then. "So? Which one's Hikaru?"

Elena looked at their faces for a few moments. Haruhi didn't say anything, and Elena knew that she could tell them apart. Eventually, Elena settled on her answer. 

"Hikaru, Kaoru." She said, pointing to the one she thought the twin was.

"No, sorry." They both said, not looking sorry at all.

"No, you're right." 

"Haruhi!"

Elena giggled as the last four made their way in. The twins were whining that Haruhi messed up their game, and Haruhi was partially ignoring them. Tamaki cried about them 'harassing his little girl' and ran over getting into a little fight with the twins. It mainly consisted of Tamaki yelling as the twins looked on, seemingly bored.

It took a few minutes before the meeting started, and they gathered around a table on couches, a tea set with some tea set out neatly.

"There's not much to discuss," Kyoya began, looking through his papers. "But we should begin with the biggest matter."

"And what would that be, Kyoya?" Tamaki asked.

"As we all know, the girls from Lobelia academy are coming to Ouran for a school event, which means we might have more girls attending the club, and we need to prepare for that. We can set out more tables, and order more tea and snacks."

They all nodded in agreement as Tamaki stood. "Alright! We need to make a good impression! So I want you all at your best!"

"Now, onto other matters, Elena does have her competition the same week they will be here..." Kyoya started before Tamaki could continue.

 

 

 

"The movie is almost finished!" Renge declared. "We just need a few more scenes, and of course, Elena is going to need the moment she find true love!"

Elena supressed a groan. At least this was almost over.

"I don't-" Elena sighed. "Renge, I don't know if I need a moment where I find true love."

Renge waved her off. "Of course you do. It won't happen until the competition, though. I'm still figuring out who it is."

Elena just sighed. There would be no point in arguing with her, so she would just have to go with it for right now and hope she doesn't pick someone that would make it awkward.

But there's a chance it would still be awkward. They are teenagers, anyway.

 

 

 

"Renge," Tamaki hissed to her from the other side of the barrier. Renge turned around from where she was talking to the camera crew, to see him looking back every few seconds as he tried to discretely get her attention.

"Yes, Tamaki?" She asked as she walked over.

He looked back one last time before starting to speak. "We have a plan, and you're now in it. You can't say a word to anyone." He whispered.

Renge leaned forward slightly. "I'm listening."

"We're trying to get Elena and Cassanova together." He explained with a grin. "We have a plan." He began to quickly whisper the plan to her and she paid close attention. When he finished talking, she straightened and put her hand on her chin, looking over to the two where Elena was helping Ritsu with a jump. 

"I do need Elena's love interest. Who better than the one she actually has a crush on!" Renge grinned and hit her closed fist against her palm. "That what we'll do! Camera crew! Start the camera, and record Elena and the redhead!" She commanded them.

They quickly did as they were told, starting up the camera.

Renge turned back to Tamaki, giving him a wink. "Don't worry, I can keep this a secret."

Tamaki smiled. "Thank you, Renge." With that, he went back to what he was supposed to be doing.

 

 

 

 

The next two days were pretty calm. It was so calm, Elena began to worry. Something was bound to go wrong.

It was the day before the competition. It wouldn't begin until after school tomorrow, and the Host club was canceled today and tomorrow so they could be there to watch and help out. Elena paced around the room nervously, going over and over in her head what was going to happen. It didn't help.

"You're going to wear a ditch if you keep doing that." The twins commented from their seat on the couch with the rest of the Hosts, except for Haruhi who had run to the store for supplies, as they watched her pace back and forth. They had tried to help her relax but to no avail.

"I know." She replied, not stopping. "But what if things go wrong? What if- what if I mess up, and make a fool of myself in front of everyone!  What if-" She was cut off by the doors opening.

She looked over to see Ritsu awkwardly shuffle inside. "Uh, hey. Kyoya-senpai asked me to come."

She looked over at the couches where Kyoya was calmly typing on his laptop. He paused to push up his glasses. "I figured he would help you relax, Elena, since you're so nervous and won't listen to us."

Elena groaned, finally taking a seat and covered her face with her hands. Ritsu took a seat next to her. "Thanks." She muttered, actually grateful.

"Don't worry, you'll do great." Ritsu encouraged softly.

"Everyone says that." She said through her hands. "I'm sure all the other competitors are a lot better."

"No way!" Honey cried. "You're amazing! And you're gonna win!" Tamaki and the twins jumped up, cheering in agreement with him.

Elena couldn't help the smile as she lowered her hands. "Thanks, guys."

The heartfelt moment was interrupted as the doors burst open, and Haruhi was there standing with three girls in uniforms that definitely  _wasn't_  from Ouran. One of them, the tallest with short brown hair had her hand on Haruhi's back, as she stood there clutching the brown paper bag of groceries to her chest and looked a little confused.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki cried.

The three girls each raised an arm dramatically. "Lobelia!" They sang.

The tallest stepped forward. "Benio Amakusa, second year."

"Chizuru Maihara, second year." The second, a girl with light brown and wavy hair, said this time.

"HinakoTsuwabuki, first year!" The third, the shortest of the group chirped.

Benio was the head of the group, Haruhi standing just behind her. With an arm still raised above her head, she put her arm around Haruhi's shoulders and pulled her to her side. "We are the girls of Lobelia academy's Zuka club!"

Elena blinked. The entire Host club was silent, seemingly just as confused as Elena was. Except for Kyoya. He continued to type on his computer.

The Lobelia girls stood stiff, seemingly waiting for a reaction. Finally, Benio put her arm back down. "I assume this is the Host club we heard about from this young maiden."

Tamaki immediately got to work, pulling out a rose from seemingly nowhere as he held it out to her to take. "You heard right, my dear."

Benio and the other two girls seemed unaffected as they chuckled. "How ridiculous. I can't believe you are keeping this poor maiden captive here!" Her eyes roamed over everyone in the room, landing on a stressed Elena. "Two young maidens!" She exclaimed, putting the back of her hand against her forehead. 

"It's okay, Benibara!" The two girls consoled. Haruhi had managed to escape her grip and left to the kitchen in the back where she began to make some tea.

"What?" Tamaki asked confused, his arm limp as he still held the rose. "Wait! Two maidens?! There's only one girl in the club!"

The three laughed again. "With those beautiful eyes, how could she not be a girl?"

She ignored Tamaki's protests as she walked to Elena, gently grabbing her hands and pulling her from the couch. Elena was now stressed, confused, and just wanted to hide under her covers.

"Oh, my dear. Trapped here by men and unable to leave! I pain for you and your friend." She said sincerely.

Elena groaned and pulled her hands away, running them through her hair as she walked away from all of them and to Haruhi, hoping for a bit of tea. "I don't have time for this!"

Ritsu stood. "She's stressed," He whispered to them.

They ignored him as Tamaki began to ramble about something. Elena thanked Haruhi as she took a cup of tea that was offered to her before she went to the three Lobelia girls and offered them some tea. She watched as they took it, rambling something about young maidens and tea, and as Tamaki burned his finger. Elena looked at the time, nearly dropping her tea, and cursed.

"I-I need to go! I'm late! I'm late!" She cried, collecting all her things in a rush. A few things fell to the ground and she hurriedly picked them all up. Ritsu began to help her with some papers that flew away.

"Late for what?" The twins asked, looking up from the game they had started to play.

"Practice! I have this one and one more before the competition!" She replied.

"Oh?" Benio said as she helped Elena pick up all the things she had dropped, "Are you in theater?"

Elena huffed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and shoving the papers Ritsu gave her in her bag. "No, skating." 

"And you have a competition? Wonderful. We will be there to cheer you on." She smiled, one that had most girls swooning.

Elena, unaffected, shoved the last of her things in the bag and made sure she had everything. "Yeah, sure. Bye guys! See you later!" She waved, leaving the room.

She rushed down the hall, pushing them from her mind. Three girls from Lobelia academy weren't important right now. Right now, she was thinking about her performance and how it would go.

There were too many things going on at once. She needed a break.

 

 

 

Elena was pacing the locker room of the ice rink.

She had finished her practice and gotten input from both her dads. It was the same she had heard before. You'll do great, don't worry, we're cheering for you.

She knew they were right, but she was still going to worry. Yuuri had smiled and hugged her when she said that, telling her he was the same. But that, again, she will do fine and to not worry too much.

She was sure that the Host Club had invited most of Ouran, or at least their guests, her aunt and uncle had flown in, and of course, the Hosts were there with Ritsu and Renge (and her camera crew).

It didn't help settle her nerves.

"Elena?"

Elena jumped at hearing her name, turning to see Haruhi standing there. 

"You doing okay?"

Elena blinked before the question registered in her head. "Uh, yeah. As good as I'll ever be." She tried for a smile, but she was sure it looked more like a grimace.

She was kind of glad when Haruhi didn't push. "Come on out then. It's about to start and everyone wants to see you before you go on."

Elena swallowed hard and nodded, pulling the thin jacket that used to be Victor's closer to herself. It was the red and white one he used to wear.

She took a deep breath as she followed Haruhi out the door. People were talking and walking to their seats, a few reporters milled about, talking to cameras or taking pictures. Her friends were waiting with Yuuri and Victor in the area that only competitors and coaches were allowed to be.

They greeted her happily, and they began to talk in the hopes to keep her calm, and she was glad they did because it did help some.It wasn't until Yuuri had to grab Jacob and his friend, who was playing a game and take them to their seats, and Victor had to go talk to some reporters, did her nerves pick up. It got worse when the Hosts had to leave to their seats.

She gave them a small wave goodbye, and they all waved back, but as she watched them go, she noticed one stayed. Ritsu.

"You should go find your seat." She told him softly. She actually didn't want him to go.

Ritsu put his hand on her shoulder. "Not until I'm sure you're okay."

Elena bit her lip. "I'm okay."

Ritsu was quiet for a moment. "You're not."

She paused and shook her head. "I'm not."

Ritsu bit his lip this time, trying to decide the best way to help her out. There were many ways, and one he really wanted to do but decided that it wasn't the time for that one.

He gently pulled her into a hug. "I'll stay here for as long as you need me."

She smiled and hugged him back. "Please do. Don't leave me alone."

Ritsu hugged her tighter. "Then I won't. Promise."

They had to pull away as the announcer began to talk, and her nerves returned. She moved to begin to pick her hand but was stopped when another held hers. She looked down to see Ritsu was holding her hand. 

He didn't let go until the last moment when she had to go on.

And this time, she took her starting stance with more confidence, meeting the eyes of her family and friends. 

Because she knew they would be there for her. And she would for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!
> 
> I know this is super late, and a little shorter than the others, but hey! I uploaded!
> 
> Things have been crazy to be honest. I don't think I will put it all here, just the two things that are happening that are probably the biggest as of right now.
> 
> My bird is getting her wing amputated,
> 
> And I'm getting my wisdom teeth out.
> 
> So yeah. Sorry about not uploading!
> 
> Happy holidays!
> 
> Adios Amigos!
> 
> ~Izzy


	15. Chapter 15

Elena breathed, waiting for the music to begin. When it did, she moved her feet, and moved the way she had practiced many times before.

She ignored the crowd as best as she could, ignored the judges as best as she could, and focused on what was there.

Her family, friends, and ice. Things she was familiar with.

She could do this.

The music continued, she knew the rhythm, she knew what came next, she knew what to expect. This was where she was most comfortable.

Then, when it seemed like much too soon, it ended. She could just hear the applause from the crowd over her heart that was much too loud and her heavy breathing.

She made her way to the edge of the rink, noticing the large and slightly rowdy group known as the Host Club. They weren't hard to spot, since the twins were holding up a large banner that was just as loud as they could be.

She smiled, stepping off the ice. Her dads were there to greet her, and she happily hugged them, even letting Victor pick her up and swing her around as long as Yuuri let him.

She got her score.

85.5.

She smiled, burying her face into Yuuri's shirt. Victor had a hand on her shoulder, Yuuri a hand on her back rubbing gently.

She placed second. Second!

Things went better than she thought it would have. She didn't think she would place in the top three. 

Her dads led her to the back where the skaters would wait when it wasn't their turn. She didn't know any of them, but they were good.

"Ele-chan!" She could hear Honey yell from behind her. She managed to turn around in time to catch him when he jumped to hug her. 

She giggled. It reminded her of Jacob, a little bit.

"You were great! It was so cute!" Honey cheered as the rest of the club walked up to join them.

"Yeah, Elena. I honestly think yours was the best one." Haruhi said.

She smiled, looking down at her feet. "Thanks, guys." The twins placed their arms around her shoulders. "We told you! We told you!" they chanted, parading her around the group. She couldn't help but giggle. 

"Okay, okay, I get it." Now that everything was over, she realized how tired she was. She couldn't help but think that the bags under her eyes must be designer.

Victor seemed to have read her mind as he patted her back. "I'm sure you're going to be like your dad and want to go home, eat and take a nap."

She nodded. "That sounds great."

Her friends smiled. Ritsu was standing in the back, less awkward than he usually was and smiling softly. She thought that smiles look good on him. Maybe she should tell him to smile more.

She blushed, glad for all the makeup as she pushed the thoughts away. Not right now. That's the last thing she needs.

"I have an idea, lets get together and celebrate!" Tamaki cried. "We'll get movies, and snacks and have lots of fun! What do you say?" He turned, grinning, to Elena.

She shrugged. "Sure. Sounds fun. But I'm not up for much right now."

"Then we'll do it tomorrow!" Tamaki pointed dramatically at the ceiling, Hikaru and Kaoru flanking him on either side. Haruhi looked exhausted as she turned to glare at the wall. 

Elena smiled. "Okay, we'll do that."

 

After Elena got her medal (her first medal! She couldn't stop smiling, even though her cheeks were so sore), she hung out with her friends in the office as she tried not to fall asleep. Jacob was watching Pokemon again, and had insisted Tamaki watch too. 

She lost track of what the conversation was about as she tried to keep her eyes open.

She ended up falling asleep on Ritsu, who blushed and awkwardly tried to figure out if he should do something, but then left her alone. He found he didn't mind that much.

He kind of missed it when her dads came and picked her up to take her home.

Not like he said anything, though. (but everyone knew since he was blushing the whole time).

 

 

 

Elena woke up in her bed a few hours later, still in costume and her hair a frizzy mess. She changed, going down the stairs and into the kitchen, which was empty.

She pulled out some leftovers from the fridge, heating up some and eating others cold. She forgot what she ate, but as soon as she finished, she went back to her room and collapsed on her bed.

Yuuri just smiled knowingly when he saw the empty containers in the sink the next morning.

 

 

Elena wasn't up until noon. Her hair an even bigger mess, and half her blankets on the floor. 

She laid there, trying to remember what happened last before she actually got out of the bed. She made her way to the bathroom where she somehow managed to tame her hair. 

She found her way downstairs half an hour later, once again hungry.

She wasn't expecting to see her group of friends there, a banner being held up by Mori and Kyoya, who held straight faces as Tamaki, the twins, Honey, and Jacob posed dramatically in front of it, with Haruhi looking as if she had been dragged in against her will. Yuuri and Victor stood to the side with  Yurio, Otabek, and Phichit. Everyone were wearing party hats, obviously made for birthdays, but with the Happy Birthday  replaced with Ýou won!' written messily in Russian and Japanese (Yurio didn't seem to be happy to be wearing his.)

She smiled.  "Aw, thanks." She smiled.

She spent the day hanging out with her friends and family, watching as Victor teased Yurio, Hikaru and Kaoru deciding to help, and Tamaki crying that they were harrassing his little girl (Elena's honestly surprised the whole school doesn't know she's a girl by now.)

Near the end, when it was just winding down, she sat down next to Ritsu on the couch, once again tired.

"Having fun?" He asked casually.

She nodded. "Yeah. This was great."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Tamaki dragged us out of bed early this morning to get ready. He was planning on having it at one of their houses, but then your dads suggested here. I'm glad they did, or it would have been even more extravagant." 

She gave him a half smile. "Remind me to get them extra special gifts this year."

He gave her a thumbs up, and they decsended into a comfortable silence as they listened to the others talk around them.

At some point, Yurio, Otabek and Phichit left, taking Jacob with them. Tamaki dramatically told her that they should all have a sleepover, Yuuri saying that it was a great idea. 

And that was how they ended up on the couch with a Disney movie marathon.

 

"The Little Mermaid was her favorite." Yuuri commented as he passed behind them.

" _Dad._ " Elena hissed, blushing slightly from where she was sitting on the couch next to Ritsu, putting on the movie.

"Let's watch that one!" The twins declared, and Elena begrudgingly complied, playing the movie.

Yuuri smirked from where he was making some popcorn as Victor piped up. "Didn't she say she was going to marry Ariel?"

" _Papa!_ " 

The two men held back their laughs as the twins smirked. 

"Ariel, huh?"

"And Howl?" The twins smirked.

"Shh! The movie's playing." She told them, trying to change the subject so that her face doesn't get any redder.

"Guess you have some competition." Hikaru whispered to Ritsu, causing him to blush.

 

Their time was spent teasing each other (usually Ritsu and Elena), watching movies, commenting on said movies, and annoying Tamaki (mainly Hikaru and Kaoru). 

They all fell asleep a few hours later in the living room, the tv still playing. Elena was leaning against Ritsu who was leaning against the arm of the couch. 

Both Victor and Yuuri just smiled softly when they saw them the next morning.

 

 

 

 

 

"Elena and Ritsu sitting in a tree!" jacob sang as he ran around the couch.

"Get back here you little monkey!" 

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He giggled continuing to run from his older sister as she chased him, her phone gripped in his small hand.

"Jacob!" She caught him, and Victor who was in the kitchen making dinner, sighed.

"Jacob, that's enough." 

Jacob dropped the phone and ran over to his dad, clinging to his leg.

Victor smiled softly. "No matter how true it is, let's not tease her." He told his son.

Jacob giggled as Elena huffed. "Papa!"

"What? It's true!"

She huffed again and went back to her room. "You're both terrible!"

 

 

 

Elena listened as the teacher droned on about whatever he was talking about, listening as the clock ticked down.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

The bell rang and they were dismissed. 

Grinning widely, she ran to meet the Host Club in the room, dodging the other students. She waved to a few of the girls that visited as she rushed past.

Only to be stopped by a force known as Ritsu Kasanoda.

She fell to the ground after knocking heads with him, groaning and pressing her hands where the pain was.

"Oh, shoot!" Ritsu exclaimed. "I'm sorry." 

Elena moved her hands away from her face and looked up in time to see him stand back up and hold a hand out to help her up.

She took it gratefully and stood up. "Thanks Ritsu."

He smiled softly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get to the club room."

Ritsu nodded in agreement as they slowly made their way down the hall. Not noticing the twins and Haruhi following behind them.

"I'm sorry I ran into you. I wanted to meet you outside your classroom, but I guess I was a little late." Ritsu said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"No, it's fine! Accidents happen!" 

The twins glared lighty at the two. "They just don't get it." Hikaru whispered.

"Yeah, they both obviously like each other." Kaoru said.

"I dunno." Haruhi commented. "I think it's cute."

They noted how close the two were walking next to each other.

"Maybe we just need to give them a bit of a push." Kaoru said, his brother slowly nodding in agreement.

"No. Just let them go at their own pace." Haruhi said as the three stopped where they were. 

 

Ritsu and Elena just continued, not noticing the other three at all.

 

 

 

 

The Host club went as well as it always did. Elena considered hanging around, but decided after the meeting to discuss a date for the Host Club's "Surprise", she and Ritsu went out onto the grounds to enjoy the sun.

The Host club was watching them from the window.

The two talked about everything and anything, ranging from club activities, to family.

After a while, when they had both settled into a comfortable silence where they sat on the grass, Ritsu cleared his throat as he began to turn red.

"Um... Elena? There..." He cleared his throat again. "There's something I wanted to say."

Elena turned to look at him curiously. "Yeah?"

He stammered for the words he wanted to say. "Well... Uh, you see... um..."

She listened quietly, a blush dusting her cheeks as her brain came up with possibilities as to what he might say.

"Uh, well-"

"Elena!"

Their heads turned to look in the direction of the voice, to see the Lobelia girls. Elena cursed in Russian.

Benibara swiftly came and gently held her hands. "Hello, my dear. I'm sorry I couldn't catch you after your performance the other day, but I had difficulty finding you! You seemed to have dissapeared."

"Um... Hi." She replied a bit awkwardly. 

"But I see you know, and I wished to congratulate you! You did so well. We could use talent like yours in Lobelia." She neared her face closer to Elena's, almost suggestively.

"Uh, I'm happy here in Ouran. Besides, my brother is in the elementary."

"Hmm, alright. But the offer is still open. We'll be here for a few more days, but," She pulled out a card. "Here's my number. You can call if you change your mind."

ELena watched as they left before looking down at the card. 

"Elena?" Ritsu asked cautiously.

Elena shook her head. "I'm not going to Lobelia." She said as they stood.

"I have more important things here in Ouran." She smiled, holding his hand. "Now let's go, the Host club should be over soon."

She dragged Ritsu with her, not seeing his blush.

 

 

 

Tamaki was doing his best not to squeal. They still had a few customers. 

Tamaki had watched most of the exchange with some of the other Hosts, Kyoya at the table next to him typing on his laptop.

"Kyoya, did you see that?" He whispered to his best friend.

"What, Tamaki?" Kyoya asked with a sigh, he stopped his typing, already knowing that he won't get anything done with the blond.

"I think Ritsu is about to tell her!" He continued to whisper.

Kyoya turned his head to look outside the window where his friend had his face pressed against it to look outside eagerly.

"What are you two doing?" A voice asked behind them.

Kyoya turned around, where Tamaki didn't move. "Elena and Kasanoda are outside. Tamaki is convinced he's about to confess."

Haruhi stepped forward to see Ritsu stammering next to Elena.

The three watched and saw as the Lobelia girls came up, interrupting them.

"Quick men! Assemble! This is an emergency!" Tamaki cried, turning from the window. Kyoya and Haruhi sighed.

The last of the guests were leaving as Honey and Mori jumped over the couches to get to him, the twins hurrying over.

"The Lobelia girls are interrupting Ritsu and Elena! We must get there to help!" He cried.

"Aye sir!" The twins and Honey both cried. With that, the group raced outside, Kyoya and Haruhi practically being dragged.

By the time they got outside, Elena and Ritsu were already coming back inside. They all nearly collided.

"Elena! We saw what happened. Are you okay? You aren't going to Lobelia, are you?" Tamaki said worriedly.

"What? No?" Elena asked confused. "I already have everything here at Ouran. Why would I go anywhere else?"

He sighed. "Thank goodness. They had tried to recruit Haruhi, but luckily she rejected."

Elena raised her fist and glared at it. "She gave me her card. Told me to call and they'd get me in."

"You aren't planning on going, are you?" Honey asked softly.

Elena smiled softly and brought her fist back down. "No, Honey. Don't worry. I won't be transferring any time soon."

The twins smirked. "Well let's get going. We have a practice to get to."

Elena giggled. "Okay then. Let's go."

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! This is done!
> 
> I'm sorry this took so long. I had major writer's block. But it's done!
> 
> Adios amigos!
> 
> ~Izzy


	16. Chapter 16

Elena groaned and blindly reached for her phone on her bedside table, hearing the ringtone play. She regretted letting Jacob pick her ringtone.

"Hello?" she said when ahead answered, not bothering with seeing who it was.

"Elena! Hey!" Hikaru greeted. "Watcha doin?"

"Running a marathon," she replied sarcastically as she turned over and checked the time. "What else would I be doing at three I be the morning?"

"So you're awake, great. Can I bounce something off you?" he continued.

"Why not? I already woke up to Pikachu singing the Pokemon theme."

"I'm going to ignore that. Okay, so, what if I made a movie, and there's this killer psychopath. And the victim in some rich kid that did something, and so they're both running through the house, aggressively clapping-"

"Why are they aggressively clapping?" Elena asked, her eyes closed and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Because the lights are clappers. Anyway-"

"Horrible idea. Make it into a comedy."

"Okay. Next thought!"

Elena held back a groan. "Another movie idea?"

"No that's ridiculous. It's just a thought. Keep up, Elena."

She rolled her eyes under her eyelids.

"Isn't it weird when we put salt on our food, that we put little rocks on it cause we like how it tastes?"

"Very weird."

"Next thing. Plastic donasours."

"What about them?"

"They're made of plastic."

"...And?"

"Plastic is made from oil. Oil comes from dinosairs. So basically, plastic dinosaurs are made from actual dinosaurs."

"Hmm... Never thought about it that way."

The two spent the next hour talking about whatever went through their heads. In the end, Elena was ready to question her existence.

As soon as they finished, she hung up and put her phone back on the table and fell asleep again.

 

 

 

 

 

Victor and Yuuri worried a bit when their daughter sat at the table the next morning and asked if they thought coconuts might be a mammal since it has hair and milk.

Elena groaned into the pillow on the couch of Music room 3.

She was tired and so ready to curl up in her bed.

She felt someone poke her back and she looked up to see the twins.

"Hikaru, try not to keep me up with an existential crisis on a school night again," she said with a glare.

"I told you," Kaoru told his brother.

"Sorry, Elena."

Haruhi joined them. "Don't worry, they've done it to me, too."

Elena groaned again and buried her face farther into the pillow.

She stayed on the couch with the other members her age as Honey went over to where Mori, Kyoya, and Tamaki were.

"Are we ready?" he asked.

Tamaki nodded. "All set."

"Good. We start tonight."

 

 

 

 

 

Elena raised an eyebrow at her friends' antics.

The twins were holding up an outfit that they had picked out for her with a grin, as Haruhi sat next to her.

"Try it on!" they encouraged. "It'll be perfect for tonight!"

"I thought we were going to discuss Club things at a restaurant," she asked.

"We are. But apparently, it's a fancy kind of place." she lowered her voice so only Elena could hear. "Damn rich people."

"Why don't we just get some fast food and go to someone's house?" she asked as she looked the outfit over. She had to admit, it wasn't bad.

"Because this is more fun!" The twins declared.

Elena rolled her eyes. "We probably could have done it in sweatpants and fuzzy socks and it would have been just as fun."

"I agree with her," Haruhi said as she raised a hand.

The twins glared lightly, trying to convey to the girl that she wasn't helping.

Elena took another moment. "Fine. If it will fetal you two off my back," she said as she took the clothes from them and went to change.

The twins grinned smugly at Haurhi. She just rolled her eyes.

Elena came back into the room wearing it.

The twins were grinning.

"It's nice..." she said, looking a the black skirt and silvery top she had. They had included a pair of decently sized heels.

"Makeup!" they declared, pulling out the other things they had brought.

She bit back a groan.

A few hours later, the four of them were walking out to the limo that was waiting at the curb. Inside sat the others from the club. And, Elena was surprised, Ritsu.

"You look amazing, Ele-chan!" Honey said.

Elena smiled. "Thanks, Honey."

Ritsu was blushing. "Uh, hey." he waved a hit awkwardly.

Elena smiled back. "Hey, Ritsu. I didn't know you would be here."

He shrugged. "To be honest, I didn't either."

The twins had also gotten to Haruhi, and she wore a light blue dress and headband. She refused anything else the two had for her.

The ride there was filled with laughter and jokes. Elena's eyes widened when they arrived at the restaurant.

"I have reservations, so we shouldn't have to wait," Kyoya said.

The group got out of the car and headed inside. Kyoya's getting their table.

Or, as t turned out, tables.

One for seven. The other for two.

"Oh dear! They messed up the reservation!" Tamaki cried, a bit dramatically. "You know what, you two sit here, the rest of us will sit there!"

The blond quickly rushed the rest of the group to the bigger table, leaving the other two at the other a few tables away.

They both blinked in confusion for a minute.

"Uh, here." Ritsu pulled out one of the chairs for her. "Sit down."

Elena took the seat. "Uh, thanks, Ritsu."

He nodded and sat down across from her.

The waiter came and took orders for drinks before leaving them alone again.

"So, uh, how's your day been?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Good. Hikaru called me at three in the morning to tell me what he was thinking about. Stayed up for an hour having an existential crisis. How has your day been?"

Ritsu took a moment to process what she had just said. "Uh, pretty good. Suoh dragged me out of my house earlier claiming it was a club emergency."

"Yeah, they've been acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. They said this was an important meeting, but I'm starting to think otherwise." Elena commented.

"Yeah." he agreed. There was a moment of comfortable silence. "I actually think they're trying to set us up."

Elena blushed a little as he thought about it. "That's... Possible. I mean, Tamaki did seem insistent that we sit here."

There was another moment of silence.

"Well, if this is supposed to be a date, let's make it good," Ritsu said as he grinned, the waiter arriving either their drinks and setting it on the table.

"Ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"Let's get deserts." he grinned, and Elena couldn't help but join him. "Cheesecake."

"Chocolate cake, for me please."

The waiter nodded and left.

"Their Cheesecake is the best. Their cake is pretty good, too." Ritsu said.

The two ate their deserts as they talked and laughed, stealing a few bites of each other's food. The Hosts watched them from their table.

"Huh, they got cake," Hikaru commented.

"We should do the same! Their cake is really yummy here!" Honey said.

"I agree with Honey-senpai." Kaoru said.

Tamaki watched the two eat and as they left, Ritsu confused for a moment when the check had been forwarded to the table with the hosts.

In the end, the two walked out the doors, happy and laughing, seeming to have forgotten the others.

"I guess everything went according to plan," Haruhi said before she took a sip of her drink.

Tamaki smiled. "Yeah, I guess it did."

 

 

 

Elena giggled and leaned back in her chair, her feet propped up next to Ritsu who sat in front of her, doing the same.

They sat in a booth in a diner, having finished their dinner and were now finishing their shakes.

"I'm pretty sure Jacob is just about ready to call Tamaki 'Big Brother.'" Elena giggled.

"Well, he certainly wouldn't be mad at it." Ritsu shrugged.

Elena copied his shrug. "I don't either."

They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company in the sounds of other people talking or people working in the kitchen.

They left a few minutes later, taking what was left of their shakes as they walked through a nearby park, one Elena would cut through sometimes to get home.

"They're probably going to bug us to no end wondering how our date went." Elena said, both of them knowing who the 'they' are.

"Date?" Ritsu asked with a blush, looking down at his shoes.

Elena blushed. "I-if you don't want to call it a date, that's fine! I just- that's what I thought it was, but its fine if you-" she stopped when she felt him hold her hand.

"No, it's fine. I like it."

Elena blushed more. Ritsu looked at their hands, and then her face and jerked his hand away from hers. "If you don't want to hold hands, that's fine! I can respect that-" she cut him off this time as she grabbed his hand to hold, giving it a light squeeze.

"I'm okay with it if you are."

Slowly, they both calmed down and continued, holding hands as they walked through the quiet park.

It almost seemed like too soon when they arrived at her house.

"I had fun," Ritsu said, blushing.

Elena smiled. "I did too. Maybe we could do it again?"

Ritsu nodded. "I'd like that. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. I'll see out at school."

He nodded again. "Yeah."

He slowly removed his hand from hers and walked back down the street.

Elena, still smiling, opened the door and went inside.

Her dads didn't mention the blush on her cheeks or the spring in her step.

But it made them happy.  
  


 

 

 

 

Elena stopped with her friends to pick up Jacob from school the next day.

The group waited patiently by the gates, talking when Jacob ran up with another little boy.

"Lena!" he cried, hugging his sister's legs. "Meet Nagisa! He's in my class!" the boy stepped away from his sister to introduce his friend.

"Hi." the boy waved shyly.

Elena waved back. "Hello, Nagisa."

Another car pulled to the curb. "That's mine. I'll see you soon, Jake!" Nagisa waved as he ran over to it.

Jacob waved back as well, his sister leading him down the sidewalk.

It was quiet for a moment as Jacob skipped down the sidewalk.

"You're in a good mood," Elena said.

Jacob nodded. "Yup!" after a moment, he looked down at his shoes, his cheeks turning red.

"Lena?"

"Yeah?"

" _How do you know that you like someone? But... Like like them_." he looked up at her, having switched to Russian.

Elena blushed a little, trying t not turn around where Ritsu was talking with Kyoya.

" _Well... Maybe you should ask someone else,_ " she replied, also in Russian.

" _I thought you would know. Y'know, with how you look at Ritsu all the time?_ "

She nearly choked on air. " _W-what?"_

" _How you look at Ritsu. It's like how Daddy and Papa look at each other."_

Elena blushed. " _Uh- well, uh-_ "

" _It's okay. I'll ask someone else!_ " he switched back to Japanese so the rest could understand him. "Tamaki- senpai!" he yelled, and the blond turned to him.

"How do you know if you like-like someone?"

Tamaki smiled, taking his hand and started to explain in a pretty dramatic fashion about love. The twins would chime in from time to time, and Elena made sure they didn't say something inappropriate.

"Is that what you two were talking about?" Ritsu asked from where he was now walking next to her.

"Uh, yeah. I guess he realized I wasn't the best person to ask." Elena rubbed the back of her neck.

"So, is there someone you might like?" Tamaki asked teasingly.

"I think so. It might be Nagisa, but I don't know if he would like me like that. One of the other kids said he likes one of the girls. But that's okay! We're still friends!"

They could all tell he was a bit sad by that but smiled anyway.

Elena ruffled her brother's hair. "It's okay, bud. Don't worry about that right now."

"But if I wait until I'm your age, I'd just awkwardly hang around them until my friends get us together!"

Elena glared. He knew what he was doing.

"Oh, hey! Here we are! Let's get our skates on!"  
  


 

 

 

 

 

The Hosts were all seated on the bleachers, as they watched Elena with Ritsu as they both skated.

"I thought the plan would have worked. Where did we go wrong?" Tamaki asked, a hand on his chin as he thought.

"What if we set them up again?" Kaoru suggested.

"What if we just leave them to figure it out?" Haruhi suggested. "They're going to get there soon."

"I agree with Haru-chan. We can give them a little push if they need it."

Tamaki hummed, seeming to think intently for a moment. "You're right." he finally agreed, smiling.

They watched as the two skated, smiles on their faces.

They were getting there.  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 

"Elena! Are you done?" Yuuri called as he walked up the steps.

He as not expecting the ambush of nerf bullets when he turned the corner.

Yuuri blocked his face. "What the-"

"Get him!" Jacob cried, tackling his Dad's legs.

Victor wrapped his arms around Yuuri's waist and picked him up.  "We've won! I told you the ambush would have worked!"

Yuuri gaped at his husband and son. "What's going on?"

"We're capturing you," Victor said as of it was the most obvious thing ever.

"If it makes you feel better, Dad, I got caught too." Elena said from where she sat on the floor trapped by the walls made from Jacob's bed and chest.

"And you're joining her!" Victor said, carrying him to their makeshift cage.

"What?! Victor! We need to go!" Yuuri exclaimed.

"Nope!" Victor replied, setting him down.

Yuuri groaned and sat down next to his daughter. "How did they get you?"

"Grabbed me as I walked past the room and said I was under arrest as they put me in here."

"At least they didn't pelt you with nerf bullets."

"You have the right to remain silent!" Jacob said, coming out of his closet dressed as a police officer. He gave Victor another hat. "Here, Papa, you wear one too."

Victor put the hat on, turning and winking at Yuuri. Yuuri rolled his eyes.

"Aw, come one, Yuuri. I know you like a man in uniform." Victor winked again.

Elena pretended to gag. "Gross!"

Jacob hit Victor with a plush bat. "No flirting while on the job! Especially with the prisoner!"

Victor held up his hands. "Sorry, sorry!"

Jacob nodded. "Good. Now don't let it happen again." he put on a pair of sunglasses, ones with Spiderman on them.

Elena held back a giggle. "We're in so much trouble now."

Jacob nodded again. "You get one phone call," he said as he grabbed Elena's phone and as he was about to hand it to her, it began to ring. "Oh look, it's your phone call!"

"Jacob, don't you dare," Elena said, narrowing her eyes.

Jacob smirked before tapping the screen to answer, and again to put it on speaker.

"Hey, Elena." Ritsu greeted.

"Hey," Elena replied, glaring at her brother.

"Why do you sound so echo-y?" he asked.

"Because you're on speaker."

"What? Why am I on speaker?" Ritsu asked, sounding confused.

"Because she's in jail and we need to hear what she's saying!" Jacob replied.

"I was framed! Get me a lawyer!" Elena declared.

Jacob giggled, and Elena could almost hear Ritsu holding back a laugh.

"I'll send one of our best lawyers over. But hey, quick question."

"Shoot."

"I have the host club here, minus Haruhi, and how do you keep them busy?"

Elena bit her lip to try and not laugh. "Play a game or something."

There were voices talking to where she couldn't hear for a moment. "Okay, um, the twins want to put you on speaker. Hold on." there was a moment of silence before she could hear him again.

"Elena! why did Casanova say he was going to send a lawyer over? Is she back? Is it the Lobelia girls?"

"I just noticed a lot of the people we don't get along with are girls," Hikaru commented.

"Tamaki, I'm fine."

"She's in jail," Jacob explained.

"Jail?!"

"Yeah, I'm the police officer!" the boy stated proudly.

It was quiet on the other line. "You aren't in actual jail, are you?"

"Nope."

Tamaki sighed. "Okay, thank goodness."

"I told you, Tamaki," Kyoya said in the background.

"I'll call you later," Ritsu said.

"Send the lawyer!" Elena replied.

The last thing she heard before he hung up was laughing.

Then she heard more as Yuuri began to laugh. "I sure hope he sends that lawyer."

"It wouldn't help you, so I wouldn't bother," Victor replied.

Yuuri replied with the roll of his eyes. "What am I in for, anyway?"

Victor leaned over the bed, smirk present and face to face with Yuuri. "Being too cute."

Elena groaned as Jacob hit Victor again. "No flirting with the prisoner!"

Elena put her face in her hands, hiding the smile. "What is my life?"

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I got this done! And on Easter!
> 
> Happy Easter! Eat plenty of chocolate!
> 
> Adios Amigos!
> 
> ~Izzy


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIVVEEE!!!!
> 
> Sorry for disappearing. I've been busy and working on editing this story, and summer became busy.
> 
> So, since I've been really bad with writing lately, I needed to get back into it. So when Katsudone_withyou on AO3 made a suggestion, I turned it into a one shot (because it wouldn't work in the story).
> 
> So, background and stuff is this is maybe a year or two before the events of the story take place, so Elena is 13-14. 
> 
> Enjoy!

  
  


_'How do I tell them?'_

That was currently the thought that occupied her mind as she stared blankly at her homework. How could she do homework when she was thinking about such an important topic! Russian homework can wait.

_'Okay, let's see. Two fictional crushes, and two actual crushes. Two of which are boys, and the other two girls. I could just say, 'Hello fathers! Your daughter is bi! She likes boys and girls! Have a nice day!' Is that too straight forward? Should I be more subtle? Probably.'_

Jason darted into the room tackling her in her chair. "Lena! Dinner!" He cheered.

Victor chuckled from where he stood at her door. "Dinner is ready, come down."

Elena just nodded and stood, Jacob running back out. Victor frowned as he watched her slow movements. She had hardly reacted when Jacob came in, and she loves being pulled away from her homework by him. Something was wrong.

Both parents noticed how quiet she was during dinner. As soon as she had finished, she excused herself to her room. Victor and Yuuri both turned to each other, worried for their daughter.

"Something's wrong," Victor said softly.

"Yeah. She's thinking about something. Something's on her mind." Yuuri replied.

"Should we talk to her?" Victor asked.

Yuuri was silent for a moment. "Yeah. We should see if she's okay."

Victor nodded. After the dishes were cleaned up, and their youngest in bed, Yuuri knocked on Elena's door and opened it when he heard a small 'come in' from inside.

Elena sat on her bed, picking at her nails. She had her pajamas on and was ready for bed, thoughts still running rampant through her mind.  She was happy when her fathers came in, hoping for something to distract her.

Both men took a seat on her bed, Victor playfully swatting the hand doing the picking away from the one being picked. "I told you she'd pick up your anxiety, Yuuri. You're a terrible influence."

Elena cracked a smile as Yuuri swatted his husband's arm. "There's that smile," Victor said when he saw it.

Elena's lip twitched down again a moment later, her mind racing again.

She had heard what a lot of people said about bisexuality. That they should pick a side, or that they were being greedy. What if her dads had the same mindset? What if she had to either just be gay or straight? As far as she knew, both of them were gay. 

Maybe she was just gay and just hasn't realized it. Internalized homophobia, or whatever.

"Elena, something's wrong? What is it?" Victor asked softly.

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat as Victor and Yuuri watched her quietly. "I... I'm think I'm bi. Or gay. I'm not sure yet. I might be gay, and haven't realized it yet, but I just know I like boys. And girls. So... probably bi?"

Both were silent for a moment, not expecting this to be what was bothering their daughter. Their silence made her more nervous and she began to pick at her nails again.

Yuuri gently placed his hand over his daughter's. "Thank you for telling us. Is this what's been bothering you all day?"

Elena nodded.

Victor tugged her into a hug that Yuuri joined in, squeezing her between them. "What brought this on?"

Elena bit her lip. "W-well... you know the two neighbor's kids? The ones on both sides of us?" She continued when they nodded. "Well... I like both of them. The boy on the right is really cute, and he has pretty eyes. And the girl on the left is so pretty, and she's really nice, and has nice hair too. Whenever I see or talk to them, I get butterflies in my stomach, and my face gets hot, and it gets hard to make sentences, and-" She was silenced when They chuckled and hugged her tighter. 

"Yuuri~!" Victor drawled out. "Our little girl is growing up!"

Elena groaned. "Papa!"

She was smooshed again as her dad's pressed a kiss to both her cheeks. They let her go a moment later as Victor turned off the lamp by her bed. 

"The rule still stands! No dating until you're thirty!" Elena giggled as she crawled under her covers.

Yuuri smiled and turned off the last lamp. "Good night."

"And good  _bi_!" Victor said as they left and closed the door.

_"Papa!"_


End file.
